Hunter and Hunted
by CodeOne
Summary: Sequel to Hunter's Rules. Hunter's past was something of a closed book to Judy and Nick, but after he is suspended from the force they start to look for answers. What they find makes them question whether they really knew their friend- and what they think they know about themselves.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: So that took a bit longer than anticipated. Last week did not go well for me. Work was crazy and so on, so forth, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseaum, ad astra, fortis fortuna adiuvat- that one kinda got away from me there._

 _But I'm back! More or less alive! With excited punctuation!_

 _This will be a "long arc" storyline, which is why it is in it's own new story thingamajig on FF. A couple of notes about it:_

 _If you haven't read "Hunter's Rules", this is a sequel and you should probably read it to get the backstory._

 _This will be a more Hopps and Wilde-focused fic, though I'm including Hunter as well because of plot reasons and because the character is fun to write._

 _This is a Wilde/Hopps shipping fic in the sense that I'm including it, but it's not the primary focus- more of a dramatic/romantic subplot, as in "Hunter's Rules"._

 _This is primarily humor-focused but will have a plot that will likely get a bit dark, because cop stuff frequently is. Expect violence and some adult themes._

 _I can't say for certain how often I'll publish, but I will have as a goal something like five chapters in a week, though I may have to scale that back a bit. I do promise that any story I start I will finish, however._

 _Remember, if you like the fic, let other folks know! I welcome any and all reviews and try to respond to them._

"Turn north here," said Judy, glancing at the map again. She looked at her partner who was driving. The fox seemed distracted, especially as he made the turn- a left, going south. "No, Nick, your other north."

He grimaced. "Sorry. Got turned around."

"Are you okay?"

"Looks like the place," said Nick as they pulled up to a small house, clearly designed for a smaller mammal. The caller had said he was a badger, so that fit.

Judy got out of the car with him, looking him over. "Nick, you've been distracted all day, what's the matter?"

"It's fine, Judy. The caller said someone broke in through his backyard, so I'll go around that way. See if you can make contact with the homeowner."

"Nick-" but he was already jogging around the front of the house. Judy turned to the house and rapidly evaluated it. No broken windows, no doors hanging open. She approached and knocked at the door, somewhat softly. "Police!" she announced. Her radio crackled.

"Twenty seven charlie to partner," said Nick over the air. "Don't see anything back here. All the windows look locked and secured."

The door swung open. "Finally! I could have been murdered in my sleep!" said the elderly badger.

Judy blinked. "Were you asleep?"

"I might have been, since it took you so long to get here. Anyway, the burglar is gone. I must have scared him off." The badger started to close the door.

"Wait," said Judy. Nick appeared from around the corner. "What happened, exactly?"

"I heard a noise from the backyard, then the window broke." Judy frowned at Nick, who shrugged.

"I didn't see any broken windows," he said.

"Oh, I fixed it." The badger led them inside. "See?"

The caller gestured at a perfectly good window that, from the amount of dust on it, looked to have been installed when the world was young. "So what did the, er, burglar look like?"

"Oh, it was a fox with a black mask over his face, carrying a big bag with a dollar sign on it and wearing a black and white striped shirt."

Nick looked at Judy. "Well, that is what a burglar looks like." He smiled. "In cartoons."

"Yes, I thought so, too," agreed the badger. "But then I thought, well, they wouldn't show them looking like that if it wasn't based on truth, now would they?"

"I suppose, if you're willing to accept that the idea that someone could paint a picture of a train tunnel and then run into it is also based on truth," said Nick. Judy glared at him before turning back to the badger.

"Sir, by any chance are you suffering from any illnesses, like, I don't know, dementia?"

The badger frowned at her. "That's a stupid question."

Judy sighed. "I'm just asking-"

"If I were suffering from dementia, I probably wouldn't remember that I was diagnosed with dementia," said the badger in a lecturing tone. "And as it happens I was not diagnosed with dementia."

"Yes, but like you said, maybe you were and you've just forgotten-"

"Or maybe I wasn't? Maybe you suffer from dementia and for some reason think you're a cop!"

"No, because you called the police because you thought you saw a burglar-"

"Or maybe you're the burglar and you're here to steal my belongings by pretending to be police!" shouted the badger.

Nick had been watching the debate intently. "You know, Carrots, if we keep this argument up too long I think we'll all be crazy."

"You're not helping, Nick," said Judy warningly. She turned back to the badger, and frowned.

"Who are you calling?"

The badger looked up from the phone as two more officers burst into the house. They stopped in surprise when they saw Nick and Judy. One of them, Fangmeyer, glanced around. "Um, we got a call that two burglars dressed as cops were here?"

Nick and Judy sighed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick stared at Judy across the desk. They were back at the station, in the officer's work area. Right now, they were the only ones there. "Why are we doing a report for the crazy old badger?"

"His name is Mr. Harris," said Judy distractedly, still typing at the computer. "And regs say we do a report any time someone reports a crime, even if it is-"

"-blatantly delusional."

"It's easier and quicker to just do the report than stand there arguing with him," said Judy. "Did you get the suspect description?"

Nick held up his notebook. "Yes, because he wouldn't talk to you. Said I was more trustworthy." He frowned. "Though he did say 'even if you are a fox', which kinda takes some of the compliment out of it."

Judy gave him a commiserating look. "Sorry. But it's part of the job. So what's the suspect description?"

"Oh, there are two." Nick held up the notebook. "First was a gray bunny wearing a blue uniform shirt and blue pants, with a shiny piece of metal on her chest-"

Judy stared. "What?"

"And the second was a red fox, same clothing description, same piece of metal pinned to his chest, and 'ruggedly handsome' with a 'charming, debonair manner'." He looked up at Judy, who narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay, I may have made up part of that."

"He described the burglars as us?"

Nick peered at her. "Hmm, that description does sound familiar. Maybe I should arrest you, take you for interrogation. Your place or mine?"

Judy felt her face heat. "Nick!" she hissed. "Not at work!"

He grinned at her. "Just making a little joke, partner."

The door slammed open behind her, and she jumped a bit. She twisted around to see the figure of their friend Hunter, the first (and only) human cop at ZPD, walk through the door. Behind him scampered the small figure of his current partner, Anila Tavi. Tavi was a mongoose, which until recently had been considered too small to be part of the police force.

Her partnership with the human was the result of Bogo deciding to make use of Hunter's background. When he had worked for the First Landing Police Department on the human world of Alpha Centauri Prime, he had been one of their most experienced trainers. Bogo had liked the concept of a field training program and had decided to institute one, with Hunter being one of the experienced officers chosen to train new officers.

Hunter stomped into the room, scowling, and sat heavily at a seat near Judy and Nick. He covered his eyes with one hand. "Why me? What have I done to deserve this?"

It should be noted that Hunter was not a field trainer by choice.

Tavi scrambled into a chair next to her trainer. "I'm sorry!"

Hunter looked at her. "Rule Eighteen!"

The mongoose looked downcast. "Never volunteer," she recited.

The human glared at her, then sighed. "Well, better get started on the paperwork. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to talk to Clawhauser before he leaves for the day." He pointed at Tavi. "You could learn a lot from him. He's a near-perfect officer."

"What?" said Judy incredulously. "He just sits at the front desk and eats donuts all day!"

"Exactly," replied Hunter. "He's living the dream. Get started on the report, rookie, I'll be back in a few with the SR-26 forms."

Nick and Judy winced as he left. "SR-26 _forms_?" said Nick. "As in, multiple?"

Tavi grimaced. "It sounded like an interesting call."

"If there are multiple SR-26 forms involved, I'm sure it was," said Nick, rolling his eyes.

The rookie started up one of the computers, then looked at the other two cops. "You guys are friends of Hunter's, aren't you?"

Both Nick and Judy nodded.

"Is he- is he always like this, or is it just with me?" asked the rookie nervously.

The fox and the rabbit exchanged looks. "Hey, Tavi, it's just his way," said Judy. "Once you get past that gruff exterior-"

"You'll get to his jerk interior," said Nick. Judy shot him a frown. "What? Because then, once you get past the jerk, you reach his-"

"Inner core of kindness?" asked Tavi hopefully.

Nick shook his head. "Nah, there's a few more layers to go through until you reach that." He thought for a second. "And actually, I would describe it less as 'kindness' and more of 'vague feelings of non-hate'."

"He's exaggerating, Tavi," said Judy hurriedly. "He's a good mammal, he just tends to give new cops a hard time at first."

"Okay," said the mongoose uncertainly. "So he's really not as lazy as he pretends to be, huh?"

"Well..."

"He's lazy, but creatively lazy," said Nick.

"Is that better than regular lazy?"

"Depends on who you ask. For example, Bogo would definitely say no."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo glanced inside the jail as he passed on his way out, then stopped.

He walked inside and looked at the jailer, Officer Hackler. Hackler stood up quickly from his desk. "Yes, sir?"

Bogo looked again at the jail cells, then back to his jailer. "Why are all the prisoners filling out SR-26 forms?"


	2. Chapter 2

The patrol car screeched around a corner, barely missing a street sign as it jumped the curb slightly. With a grimace of effort, Tavi wrestled it back into her lane, a car blasting its horn at them as she did. She glanced at her trainer guiltily. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to these big patrol cars."

Pale-faced and sweating, Hunter nodded. "Maybe if you slowed down a bit?"

She looked at him, surprised. "Fangmeyer sounded like he needed help right away!"

They were responding to a call for an officer assist, at a high- though not the highest- priority. "I think it will be better for him if we arrive alive and in a non-destroyed patrol car, not as a smoking heap of shattered metal."

"But-"

"Let's focus on the getting there, rookie, not the 'getting there fast' bit."

She turned her attention to the road again, but almost immediately looked back at Hunter. "Do you think he's hurt?"

"I think if you don't concentrate on the road we're going to get hurt."

"Sorry, but what if he is-"

"Are all mongooses-" Hunter paused. "Mongeese? Mongoosi?" Tavi gave him a strange look. "Okay, I'm going to be completely honest with you. I don't know the plural for your species."

"Mongooses."

"That just sounds weird," decided Hunter after a moment. "Are all mongoosen this hyperactive?"

"I'm not hyperactive!" Tavi exclaimed. She dodged around a barrier blocking a pothole in the roadway, sending Hunter flying to one side, then back to the other to slam into the door. "I'm considered very calm and collected by my family."

"Wow," said Hunter, as he carefully tightened his seat-belt. "Please tell me none of your family are going to follow your steps into the police force."

"Well, my brother Ricky was thinking about it, but- oh, here we are!" She slammed on the brakes, sending Hunter flying forward until caught by the seat belt, which then threw him back into his seat.

He groaned. "I've been in car crashes less violent than your driving, rook." Before he finished his sentence, she was already charging out of the car.

Hunter undid his seat belt and followed, though at a slightly more sedate pace as he took in the scene.

Fangmeyer stood facing a elephant, which from the pronounced sway in his stance and the slurred quality of the invectives he was throwing at the ZPD cop, was clearly extremely drunk. Idly, Hunter wondered just how much alcohol was needed to get an elephant drunk.

Tavi rushed up behind the elephant, which was facing away from them. Fangmeyer saw them approaching, his look of relief at seeing more ZPD officers arriving turning to bafflement as the mongoose came to a halt.

"Sir!" she shouted. "Turn around and put your paws behind your back!"

Hunter walked up beside her. "Actually, I don't think that's how you arrest an elephant."

She paused. "Oh, right." In a flash, she had pulled out her handbook, thumbing to a section marked "arrest procedures". She flipped to the page for elephants and frowned.

Hunter read it over her shoulder. "How to arrest elephants. Step one: Try not to." He nodded. "Hey, that book is actually pretty smart."

The elephant, meanwhile, had ignored them and was still focused on Fangmeyer. "Whatcha gonna do, cop? Huh? I'm ready for you, anytime. Bring it on! You gonna arrest me?"

Fangmeyer looked past the elephant to Hunter. "You don't happen to have an elephant stunner, do you?"

"No, but I have a mongoose."

The other cop looked at the rookie. "Uh-huh. Does she have an elephant stunner?"

"Should I tackle him?" whispered Tavi to Hunter.

He looked at her in disbelief. "Sure, go get him."

"Okay." She focused on the elephant, and started making a weird chittering noise, along with repeated, rapid, side-to-side hops. Her hair bristled and her teeth chattered. Her tail fluffed out.

Hunter stared at her. "Uh, rookie, I was joking. That was a joke. Seriously, stop-"

With a strange, chittering shriek, she launched herself at the elephant, who had finally started to turn to face them.

All the elephant saw was a brownish furry projectile that launched itself at him, clambering over his back. "Stop, in the name of the law!" shouted Tavi as she climbed over the elephant.

In his inebriated state, the elephant's efforts to remove the mongoose were both frantic and uncoordinated. Hunter stared as the elephant trumpeted in shock, then tried to catch the mongoose scrambling over his body with his trunk. With contemptuous ease, Tavi avoided the trunk and rushed to his ears, yanking on them.

Both Hunter and Fangmeyer backed up as the elephant started turning in circles, trying to see what was going on. "What is this thing?" shouted the elephant, his voice panicky. "Get it off! Ow!" He cried out as an attempt to grab Tavi resulted in him poking his eye with his trunk. "Get this hairy snake thing away from me!"

"I'm an officer of the law!"

"Get this hairy snake cop away from me! I give up!"

Tavi suddenly jumped onto the base of his trunk and stared him in the eye. "You give up?"

"Yes, yes, anything, get off of me!"

"Okay." She pulled out her handbook and looked at it. She cocked her head, then held it up so the elephant could see the line drawing of the proper position an elephant suspect should assume to be shackled. "Can you stand like this, please?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Huh." Fangmeyer stood next to Hunter, watching as Tavi laboriously shackled the shivering elephant.

"Yeah," replied Hunter. "I think maybe you should have been accepting smaller mammals into the police force a long time ago."

"Are all mongooses- mongeese- mong-"

"Mongoosen."

Fangmeyer cocked his head skeptically at that, but decided to accept it. "Are all mongoosen like that?"

"No, apparently she's very calm for a mongoose."

"And you think we should have more of them? Hey, didn't she end up making you have to do like twenty SR-26 forms the other day?"

"Well, I got the crooks in the jail to do it for me," said Hunter with a shrug. "I promised them a donut each."

"You got prisoners to fill out your paperwork." Fangmeyer stared at him.

"The SR-26 forms aren't hard to fill out, just long and boring."

"That's- what did Bogo say about it?"

"Ah, yeah, there's the rub."

"Yeah, Hunter, I figured he wouldn't-"

"He said they were way better than what we usually turn in. So I may have set the bar a little higher by accident."

After a long moment, Fangmeyer sighed. "Working with you is sort of surreal, Hunter."

Tavi walked up to them, beaming with pride. "One elephant arrested, sir!"

Hunter looked at the elephant, who still looked rather bemused. "I don't think the surrealism is really my fault in this case."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, deja vu," said Nick as they pulled up to a familiar house.

"Deja vu because we're back at Mr. Harris's house, or deja vu because this is a missing mammal case like the one I was working when we first met?" asked Judy.

"Actually I meant because your driving is still terrible- ow!" He rubbed his arm where Judy had delivered a punch.

Judy gave him a cool look as she got out of the car. The caller, an elderly wombat that lived across the street from Harris's home, hurried over. "I'm so glad you're here, officers."

"Happy to help, ma'am," said Nick as he adjusted his aviator sunglasses. "When did you notice something was wrong?"

"I was coming over to bring Cecil- Mr. Harris- one of my blueberry pies. I always make him one on Sundays, he's always been a good friend of mine. His wife passed away fifteen years ago, you know, and-"

"So you found the door open?" asked Judy patiently.

"Yes, and his car missing! But Cecil never goes out on Sundays. Or on most other days, come to think of it. I think it's because of all the burglars." The wombat peered at the house. "I thought he left the door open, because he has become ever so absent-minded recently. But when I went inside, no one was there."

"Do you know if his keys were missing?" Nick was looking inside the house. "Or where he generally keeps them?'

"Yes, on the table near the front door," she said, pointing. Nick noted the keys- if they had been there- were no longer present.

"Okay, ma'am, my partner and I will check it out," said Judy reassuringly. "We might have some more questions, but you can go home for now if you want."

The wombat wrung her hands. "Oh, I hope he's all right. He really needs someone to look after him." With that, she walked back to her home.

Nick looked at Judy. "Well, that is strange."

"For Harris to go missing? He probably did have some form of dementia."

"No, that he has a friend."

Judy gave him another look as she walked past into the house.

It was much the same as the last time they had been inside. Old furniture that was relatively well-kept, a fine patina of dust, the slightly musty scent of a home that was both well-lived in and rarely aired out. Nick walked around, glancing at the photographs on the wall. Children, grandchildren- one older photograph showed Harris with a female badger, presumably his wife. Nick picked it up, feeling a bit guilty for his flippancy towards the old badger. Sure, he wasn't pleasant to be around, but how pleasant would someone who had lived alone for fifteen years be?

As he returned the photograph, he heard Judy from the kitchen. "Nick? You better see this."

He walked inside. Judy gestured to a window- the same one that Harris had said was broken by the "burglar" from the earlier call. He frowned.

"It's broken."

"Possible sign of entry," said Judy with a nod.

"That's weird- same window he thought was broken before."

The window opened above a kitchen counter. Judy was studying it closely, and suddenly dashed out to the car. Nick watched her go in surprise. "Carrots?"

Even as he started to follow her, she returned with a fingerprint kit. She moved to the counter and started dusting it.

Nick watched her in surprise. "You know the counter is going to have all kinds of prints on it-"

Judy stopped dusting and looked at him, before reaching over and flipping the kitchen light on. They both looked at the print revealed by the light.

"Including footprints?"

Nick stared. "That's not just any footprint, Carrots.

"That's a human footprint."


	3. Chapter 3

Nick silently moved up to the entrance to the office, his new gun- a custom-made Loronar 7.5mm carbine- snugged up to his shoulder. He glanced back and made sure his partner, Judy, was behind him, her eyes watching behind them along the hallway they had just traversed.

On the other side of the door, Bohrs and Leo settled into place in a mirror image of he and Judy. He met Bohrs's eyes and held up a paw with three fingers extended. He counted down silently.

Three.

Two.

One.

As his paw made a fist Bohrs struck the door with the hand-carried battering ram he had, throwing the flimsy interior door open. Nick moved in, his eyes locked to his sights, "slicing the pie" as he had been trained. As he cleared the door he saw that the door was to the far left of the office, so that he had a wall directly to his left. More importantly, he saw one of the suspects, raising a weapon as he came through the door.

Nick fired and the suspect flinched before taking two more shots from Bohrs. The target fell, neutralized.

Leo and Judy followed, their own weapons up, and too late Bohrs realized he hadn't cleared to the right as he entered the room. Nick saw him take a round, red spattering his uniform as the bark of a semi-automatic filled the room.

The three cops tracked right, finding the suspect who was already drawing a bead-

On Nick.

Nick felt his head snap back and his vision filled with red.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy was angry. Bohrs had screwed up- forgotten to clear right when entering the room, and now two of her team were down. She was already on target, and fired rapidly, two rounds hitting in the "ten ring" of the threat, the final smashing into his face. The suspect staggered back, dropping his gun.

She turned to Nick, his face a red mess.

He groaned and wrenched off the paint-covered mask. "Dammit."

Bohrs was looking down at his own paint-covered uniform. "Oops."

The first "suspect" took off his own mask. "Well, yes, that is one way to greet your own miserable demise," he said, in a precise, clipped accent. His name was Gregory ("not Greg", he insisted) Hirsch, and he was one of two firearms trainers sent by FLPD to train Zootopia police in the use of guns. It had been thought necessary after human arms dealers had started smuggling weapons onto Terra. Hirsch was human, naturally, as was the second "suspect", Anna Koroliy, who picked up her gun with a wince. "I'm afraid that with real guns, however, 'oops' just doesn't cut it."

Judy glared at Bohrs. "You are supposed to go right, Bohrs. Not fixate on the first target you see."

"He was shooting at me!" protested Bohrs.

"So was I," said Koyoliy. "And from even closer."

"On the plus side," said Hirsch,"that was pretty good shooting overall. Except for you, Wilde. What is it about you and shooting me in the damn crotch?" He gestured and Wilde put his ears back in embarrassment as he saw the red paint dripping from Hirsch's pants.

"Hey, I'm only about half your height, it's natural that I tend to shoot at, er, eye level for me-"

"Now that's something I really don't want to think about too closely," said Hirsch dryly.

Judy had just noticed something on the battering ram Bohrs had been carrying. "Hey, why does this have KKMF engraved on the front?"

Hirsch and Koroliy exchanged looks. "It's a joke," explained Hirsch. "It means, uh, 'knock-knock mothe-'"

"'My friends'", interrupted Koroliy. "Knock-knock, my friends."

Judy tilted her head at them suspiciously, especially when the other three Zootopian officers started laughing.

"At any rate," said Hirsch quickly, "Let's get set up again and run through it once more. And again and again, until you get it right every time."

"Because in real life," said Koroliy seriously, "you only get one chance."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The training day over, Nick and Judy were cleaning their weapons with the rest of the trainees under the watchful eyes of the two FLPD trainers. The firearms- all custom-made, as there had heretofore never been a market for weapons usable by lions, boars, foxes, and rabbits- were real and the simulated munitions they used for training deposited as much or more residue on the barrels as real bullets would.

"So why doesn't Hunter have to go through this course?" asked Nick.

"Because he could teach it," said Koroliy, who had overheard. "In fact, he used to back on AlphaCen."

Nick looked slightly surprised, but Judy nodded slowly. "That explains a lot, actually."

After a moment, Nick thought of the warehouse where Hunter had taken down three mercenaries in less time than it took to say it. "Yeah, it kinda does."

"I'm perfectly happy that I'm not training Hunter," said Hirsch, reflectively. "The last time I gave a course on this, he was one of the trainees. He used breaching explosives and a flashbang when he made entry."

"You were training with flashbangs and breaching explosives?" asked Leo, surprised.

Hirsch gave him a flat look. "No."

"I had a headache for a week," muttered Koroliy.

"It's a wonder he managed to even stay on the department, after some of the stuff he pulled," said Hirsch. "That he kept his job, even getting busted back down to patrol, still amazes me."

"Doesn't surprise me," muttered Koroliy. "Considering his background before he joined the department."

The Zootopians exchanged interested looks. "So what did he do?" asked Bohrs.

The two FLPD officers shook their heads. "If he hasn't said, we're not going to," said Hirsch. "He's a good cop, even if he is completely nuts."

Koroliy frowned. "I agree with that partly. He is completely nuts. Not sure he is a good cop."

"Can't you at least give us a hint what he did before he was a cop?" asked Judy curiously. It was one of the things- the many things, she was starting to realize- she didn't know about Hunter. "Was he- in the military, or something?"

Hirsch and Koroliy stared at her in frank amazement. "The military?" Koroliy said, finally. "Can you imagine Hunter in the _military_?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I still say he was in the army," said Nick as they walked back into the station, carrying their department-issued firearms in locked cases. Zootopia PD was not particularly enthusiastic about even police having firearms, and so they needed to be stored at the station when not being used in training or on-duty.

Judy shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I've been reading up on the human armies- they've been almost constantly fighting wars," argued Nick. "It would explain- what?"

Judy had thought she had hidden her surprise better. "Nothing," she said.

Nick glared at her. "I read."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking it!"

"That's true," said Hunter dryly, who was leaning on Clawhauser's desk. The cheetah was laughing at something he had said. "I could hear her thinking it from here."

Nick glared at them. "Where does everyone get this idea that I'm anti-intellectual?"

"The shirt and tie combo you tend to wear off-duty," Hunter responded promptly. "No one smart would wear something like that."

Nick tilted his head at him. "Hey, Hunter, you know I read that our ancestors would gnaw their leg off to get out of a trap?"

The older cop raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Yeah?"

"Imagine what we would do to _someone else's_ leg."

Hunter chuckled. "I'm just pulling your chain, Nick."

"What did you do before you were a cop, Zach?" asked Judy suddenly.

There was the slightest pause. "I was a referee for a professional sports organization," said Hunter. "I became a cop because I wanted to make decisions that would anger everyone, not just half the people watching."

Judy cracked a slight smile, but kept looking at him. "Seriously, Zach." Nick and Clawhauser

He glanced towards the door. "Huh, wonder what's keeping the rookie?" He walked out.

Judy looked at Nick, who shrugged. "Maybe he was a spy?"

"Hunter was a spy?" asked Clawhauser, his eyes widening.

"No, or- well, I doubt it-" said Judy, but Clawhauser was already nodding.

"It would explain so much! Only a spy could have come up with and carried out the Pink Mohawk Prank on Chief Bogo and not gotten caught!"

"The what prank?" asked Judy in confusion. Nick just grinned.

"You didn't hear?" Clawhauser leaned forward conspiratorially. "So the Chief had a meeting with the mayor that day-"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter walked around to the sallyport where prisoners were off-loaded into the jail, where he spotted the massive vehicle needed to transport elephant prisoners still sitting in the covered section of the sallyport. He frowned- the prisoner should have been off-loaded by now.

As he approached, he saw Tavi near the back door of the transport van, leaning inside slightly. "You need to come out now, Mr. Tuskell."

The intoxicated elephant inside snorted. "Telling me that didn't work the last time, runt, why'd you think it'd work this time."

Tavi glared at him as Hunter got closer. "You better come out-"

Like most criminals, Tuskell had gotten much bolder once he was shackled- he knew well that police would be reluctant to use force on a shackled or handcuffed prisoner since it was too easy to see as excessive. Well, at least not in Zootopia which had little police corruption.

Like many criminals as well, he apparently decided to take the opportunity to heap a bit of denigration on the cop that arrested him. "I had better come out, or what? Huh? Little runt like you, what do you think's going to happen the first time you come up against a serious predator?" The elephant stomped his foot, shaking the van. "If I hadn't been drunk, I'd have smashed you flat, little mammal."

Tavi hesitated- only briefly, but as Hunter watched, he knew it was too much. The elephant had noticed the slight pause, and would take advantage of that slight show of weakness. "I need you to cooperate, Tuskell-"

"Oh, yeah, you need me, all right- what you really need, honey, is a big old-"

Hunter tuned out the elephant as it grew more profane. He had heard it all before, mostly directed at female officers. But that didn't mean he was going to let some low-life scumbag talk like that to his rookie.

He stepped up into the van, surprising the elephant as it was graphically describing what he felt should happen to little mammals who got in over their heads. The elephant started slightly in surprise as Hunter leaned close to him.

"It's Tuskell?" he asked, genially.

The elephant looked at him warily. "Yeah."

"You better listen to the officer, or you're going to really regret it."

The elephant smiled, though slightly nervously as Hunter continued to stare him down. "Yeah?" he sneered. "What are you gonna do? Beat me up?"

Hunter shook his head. "No, way worse than that."

The elephant's eyes flicked to the gun Hunter wore on his belt. Hunter saw the look. "Nope, not going to shoot you."

"Then what?" demanded the elephant.

Hunter grinned. "I'm going to be really, really nice to you."

"Huh?"

"When I walk you into the jail, I'm going to be really nice to you. Thank you in a loud voice for all the useful information you gave me." Hunter smiled broadly. "I may even look significantly at Ustinov's cell when I do- he's a polar bear, works for someone in Tundratown. I'll also make sure you get lots of preferential treatment."

The elephant was drunk, but not that drunk. His eyes were as big as saucers. "You can't- they'll think I snitched!"

"Will they?" Hunter frowned at Tavi. "Didn't think of that. Hey, Tavi, what is it that snitches get? Riches?"

"Witches?" said Tavi, who was catching on.

Hunter snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! Stitches! Snitches get stitches! Well, can't be helped. I was always taught to return kindness for cruelty, and to turn the other cheek, and so on, so if you keep treating my partner like this I'm going to have to get _really nice_ to you, Tuskell. Really kind of _kill you with kindness_ , if you know what I mean? You follow?"

The elephant stared.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You didn't need to do that," murmured Tavi as they walked the very quiet elephant into the jail. "He wasn't bothering me." She kept her face down as she walked, not meeting Hunter's eyes.

Hunter looked at her, then looked away. "Hell, I know that. Hey, you took down the elephant by your lonesome, Tavi. I know you're tough- and so do you. What he says doesn't matter to either of us." He shrugged. "I just got tired of listening to him."

For a moment she was quiet. Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, me too. Thanks."

Hunter waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You got this from here?"

"You bet!" Her natural high spirits were returning as she gave him a big thumbs up.

He shook his head. "Ugh, enthusiasm. I'm going to turn in my gun to supply for the day. Meet me over there when you're finished."

 _Author's Note:_

 _So now I'm imagining Judy and Nick in SWAT gear stacked up outside of a doorway, and really wish someone would do fan-art of that. For extra funny, imagine Drowning Pool's_ Bodies _playing during that little scene in the shoot-house._

 _A few quick notes on where this is going (without spoilers):_

 _I've got this arc plotted out, and quite frankly it's going to turn out a bit darker than I had anticipated. I think it will be pretty good- I wouldn't write it if I didn't think I had something of interest here- but there's going to be a little less Buddy Cop and a bit more psychological thriller/mystery going on. However! I don't intend that to be where things are headed permanently. I just wanted to hash out some of Hunter's background, and explain a bit about why he is the way he is, in a way that relates to certain themes I'm exploring. I've also been kind of using Hunter as a foil to Judy and Nick, so we can see their growth and development as cops. You'll see what I mean._

 _One of my goals with writing this is to tighten up my plotting and character development skills- I think dialogue I'm pretty strong with, but those other elements are trickier for me. So this is sort of experimental writing for me._

 _Anyway, if you find you don't like this Darker and Edgier storyline, I do intend to go back to nearly pure humor afterward- especially in shorter arcs. If you do like it, let me know and I'll try to hit more of a balance in the future._


	4. Chapter 4

Judy handed the gun case to the bored officer in the supply room. He opened it, glanced at the weapon inside and was about to close it when Hunter walked in.

"Hang on a sec," said the human as he walked up to the counter. He picked up the gun curiously. "What the hell kind of gun is this?"

The weapon he picked up was a carbine-style, but unlike most guns, was remarkably lightweight. It was also much smaller to fit to a bunny-sized user, and, most oddly and what probably attracted Hunter's attention, the barrel had multiple small vents in it.

"A regular gun like you carry has too much recoil for me," explained Judy. "So Highfall Armory custom-made this." She grimaced. "They were really excited about it- said they hoped that they'd have a big market for guns on Zootopia for smaller mammals in the future." Her scowl showed what she thought of that idea.

Hunter glanced at her. "Well, hopefully it won't be needed, but you have to admit a force equalizer might be useful for smaller mammals." He studied the weapon. "I still don't get it, though. With these holes in the barrel, it seems like you'd lose all the pressure needed to propel the bullet forward."

"It's called a gyrojet," said Nick. "Ancient design, not really used because it's not practical. Basically, instead of an explosion in the gun propelling the bullet, each bullet is a tiny rocket- the rocket is ignited by the firing pin, and the bullet continues to accelerate until the fuel runs out."

He noticed Hunter and Judy staring at him. "Seriously, I do read things!"

Hunter chuckled. "So the acceleration happens while it's in flight- so it takes some time to get to full velocity?"

Judy nodded. "Yeah, and the bullets themselves aren't all that powerful- anything less than three meters or so and it probably won't do much harm. It might not even break someone's skin, though they'll know they got shot. Which means it's actually not all that useful for most police duties- they let me carry it for now to get used to it and for training. Highfall says they should have a better design soon."

Hunter nodded. "What about you, Nick?"

"Low velocity 7.5mm carbine." Nick pointed to the case. "Kicks like a wildebeest, but I can handle it fairly well."

"Yeah, I heard that you guys were shooting pretty good," said Hunter. "Though apparently you have a rather disturbing natural aim point."

Nick's ears laid back. "I'm never going to live that down."

"The next time I train against Greg, I'm going to shoot him in the balls over and over," said Hunter cheerily.

"Yeah, yeah, then say you learned from me," muttered the fox.

"What? No, it's just what I always do. He's kind of a jackass."

"I like him," said Judy.

They both looked at her. "Yeah, but you like everyone," said Hunter.

"Even sly foxes that con you into buying them popsicles," added Nick.

She smiled at him. "Especially sly foxes that con me into buying them popsicles."

They continued bantering back and forth as they walked with Hunter to their lockers. Nick opened his and Judy frowned when she looked inside. "Nick, why do you have a mostly-eaten blueberry pie in your locker?"

Hunter leaned over. "Ooh, locker pie? Wonder if I got some." He closed his eyes and opened his locker, muttering "apple, apple" under his breath. When he opened his eyes he peered into the locker, then sighed in disappointment. "Damn."

Nick had taken the pie out. "Want some of mine, Hunter?"

The human smiled. "Don't mind if I do." He reached for the pie and Nick suddenly jerked it away.

"My locker pie." He grabbed the last piece and stuck it in his mouth, grinning at Hunter as he chewed. "Mmm...that's some good locker pie."

Hunter glared at him. "You know, offering food under false pretenses to a hungry police officer is a Class D felony."

"No, it's not."

"Oh, now all of a sudden you're an expert on the law?"

"Seriously, where did you get that- wait a minute," said Judy. Her eyes narrowed. "That's Mr. Harris's pie."

"No, it was the pie that the nice wombat lady was going to give to Mr. Harris, and he was missing." Nick tossed the empty pie plate into the trash and looked around for somewhere to wipe his paws, which still had blueberry pie filling on them.

"You took our victim's pie?"

"He didn't need it! And the wombat lady offered!"

"What victim?" asked Hunter, who had turned away back to his locker.

Judy glared at Nick, who briefly looked ashamed. "Our missing mammal." She suddenly turned to Hunter. "Actually, I meant to talk to you about that."

"Oh?" Hunter turned towards her. Behind him, Nick surreptitiously began wiping his paws on Hunter's uniform jacket which was hanging in the locker.

Judy gave a _What do you think you're doing? l_ ook to Nick, who grinned back cheekily. Hunter frowned at her and turned around, just in time to see Nick putting his duty belt into his locker. Nonplussed, he turned back to Judy.

"He was a missing elderly badger, suffered from dementia-" they had confirmed that with his nearest relative over the phone "-and he went missing."

Hunter shrugged. "A shame, but lots of elderly folks go missing when they have a mental illness. He'll turn up."

"There were signs of entry, and we found a footprint on the kitchen counter where it looked someone climbed in."

Hunter's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Not just a footprint," put in Nick. "A boot print. A human boot print, looked like."

The older cop turned back to him. "How could you tell?"

"Um, because it was a boot print? Actually, probably about your size. I don't know if you noticed, but hardly any animals wear shoes around here. You're the only mammal I've seen that regularly wears shoes."

"Yeah, that's still weird to me. Don't your feet get cold?"

"We have fur, you weird hairless mammal."

"Anyway," said Judy, breaking in. "It's just odd. I mean, the only humans we get on Zootopia are tourists, and they're hardly likely to be abducting elderly badgers."

"Especially that one," muttered Nick. "I mean, who would want him?"

Judy glared at him. "Just kidding," he said, holding his paws up in a gesture of submission.

Hunter nodded. "Well, it does sound weird. I'll keep an eye out for anything that might be related. Keep me in the loop, okay?"

"Sure thing." Judy looked at Nick. "Are you coming?"

"You guys going out again tonight?" asked Hunter casually.

"Apartment hunting," said Judy.

"Oh, yeah? For you, I assume- finally going to move out of the glorified prison cell you live in?"

"Um."

Nick and she glanced at one another.

"For both of us," said Nick.

Hunter paused, looked at them closely. He nodded. "Well, all right then," he said simply.

They both sighed in relief. It was true that Hunter played pretty close to the vest when it came to his past, Judy reflected, but to be fair, he also respected their privacy.

Hunter pulled out his uniform jacket and pulled it on. Nick froze as Hunter suddenly stopped, an odd expression on his face. He reached inside his jacket with his hand, bringing it out and staring at the blue goo coating his fingers.

"So, yeah," said Nick hurriedly. "We had better get going!" He grabbed Judy's arm and hustled her towards the door.

Hunter narrowed his eyes at the fox. "Hey, Nick, it looks like I need a new coat. I'm thinking fox fur."

With a yelp, Nick fled out the door.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Why do you two constantly bug each other?"

"It's a male thing. We have to threaten our friends with physical violence occasionally." Hunter grabbed some paper towels from a roll nearby and started wiping at his jacket.

"Uh-huh. How do you treat the people you don't like, then?"

"We're eerily polite to them."

The door swung open again and Hirsch walked in, still in his training gear. He stopped when he saw Hunter.

"Hunter."

Hunter nodded. "Hirsch."

They stared at one another. Neither seemed to want to be the first to look away.

Judy rolled her eyes and walked out. "Males," she said under her breath.

 _Author's Note: Short chapter, I know. I'll have a couple/few out tomorrow, though._


	5. Chapter 5

The apartment agent they were meeting was late. Nick and Judy stood outside the office where they were supposed to meet him, standing close to the building to stay out of the way of the continuous stream of mammals walking past on the sidewalk.

Judy kept a wary eye on Nick. She had noticed that, in crowds, he tended to be a bit jumpy and nervous recently. His eyes scanned the pedestrians, his tail was still and stiff rather than relaxed, and whenever a passing mammal came close he shifted to face them until they moved past. It was subtle, but Judy had been around him long enough that she had started to notice the difference from his usual casual air.

It worried her. They had been through some pretty rough times recently- Nick had been shot and would have died except for the use of advanced human medical technology. She moved closer to him, and he shot her a look before his eyes returned to the crowd. "What's wrong, Carrots?"

"Oh, nothing. Just kind of cold," she lied. Nick would talk to her when he was ready, but now was definitely not the time.

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer, and she sighed as she felt the stiffness and tension in his muscles. She shivered slightly, though not from the cold.

"I'm so sorry!" shouted a porcupine as he approached. "I'm Anthony Qwilleran, your agent. You can just call me Tony."

Judy felt Nick tense when the porcupine first shouted at them, but then he relaxed and shook paws with the porcupine. "Hey, Tony. I'm Nick Wilde- we spoke on the phone."

"Ah, and this must be your roommate-to-be, Carrots."

Judy raised an eyebrow at the porcupine and then looked at Nick, who coughed. "Oh, sorry, Tony, that's a nickname. Her name is Judy, Judy Hopps."

"Oh, of course!" The porcupine seemed flustered. "I didn't mean anything by that, Ms. Hopps-"

"It's fine," said Judy. "He's a just a dumb fox," she added fondly.

Nick grinned at her and she felt her heart flutter at the look of affection in his eyes, before turning back to Tony. "So where's the first place we're going?"

"Hop into my car and I'll show you," said Tony. "It's a great place, good view, very reasonable rates-"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They arrived at the apartment.

Judy had to admit, the rates were very reasonable, the building well-kept, with an excellent view of the city's skyline.

There was just one problem.

She looked at the porcupine. "This is a rodent home."

Tony nodded. "Yes, but it met seven out of eight of the criteria you wanted for an apartment on our website-"

"I can't fit through the doorway," said Judy. "Nick definitely can't." Nick had the look of someone who is resolutely not saying anything because if they open their mouth, they'll just start laughing and not stop.

"It's two bedroom, two bathrooms, granite countertops-"

"Tony. Tony!" The porcupine stopped, looked at them. "It doesn't matter how many bedrooms there are. We can't fit in them."

For a long moment, Tony stared at them. Then he looked at the apartment. Then he looked back at them. "So it's too small?"

Judy sighed as Nick turned away, unable to keep a straight face anymore. "Yes."

The porcupine pulled a tape measure from his pocket and held it up to Judy, then put it up to the door. "Huh." He scratched his head as he contemplated the tiny building.

Judy turned to Nick. "Where did you find this guy?" she whispered furiously.

"Zoogle search. 'Cheapest rental agent in town'. First result."

Judy face-pawed. "Next time, I do the research."

Tony turned back to them. "So you want something bigger?"

"Yes," replied Judy, gritting her teeth.

"I have a nice home that an elephant couple just moved out of-"

She stared at him. "Too big."

"Oh. Well, let me check my folder in the car, I might have something for you." As he walked away, Judy's ears caught him muttering to himself. "Picky, picky."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy walked into roll call the next morning grimly, Nick following her. "He had good reviews on Yip!" protested Nick. "Both of them were five stars!"

"The first place we looked at was a rodent home. The second had a chalk outline in the living room, which was probably a prank but still pretty creepy, and the third wasn't actually for rent because someone was already living there."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, that koala was really surprised when we walked in. Didn't know koalas cooked in the nude."

"I don't think it's really a koala thing, specifically."

"Well, what about the fourth place? That was nice."

"You mean the one with the-" Judy put her paws in the air to make quotation symbols "-'skylight'?"

"Needed a bit of work, sure, but-"

"A hole in the roof is not 'a bit of work'. It's a reason to condemn a building."

"Tony said they'd fix it."

"There was a squirrel living in the attic!"

Hunter, who was sitting in front of them, lowered the crossword he was working on and twisted around to look at them with a frown. "That's not uncommon- wait. Squirrels are sentient here." He shook his head. "So it's like having a homeless person living with you."

"Yes," said Judy in exasperation. "There was a homeless squirrel living in the attic."

"Tony said he was harmless," protested Nick.

"No, Nick, he said he was 'mostly harmless'. Then he declined to elaborate." She glared at him. "What's with you, anyway? We make enough money now to afford something better- I mean, didn't you say you made two hundred dollars a day since you were twelve?"

"That was revenue," said Nick defensively. "I had to pay overhead, wear and tear on Finnick's truck, bailing him out of jail occasionally, and protection money to Mr. Big."

Judy frowned. "Protection money?"

"Can't run a hustle like mine without paying for protection, now can you?"

Hunter nodded. "The basis of government in a nutshell."

"So you paid off the criminals and not the government?" said Judy incredulously.

Nick shrugged. "At the time, it was hard to see the difference."

That put a sudden end to the conversation. Hunter coughed in the sudden silence. "So apartment hunting did not go well?"

"You could say that," muttered Nick. Changing the subject, he looked at Hunter. "So how are you and the rookie getting along?"

"Oh, you know rookies. They're like puppies. Eager, energetic, you occasionally have to swat them on the nose with a rolled up newspaper," replied Hunter, waving the newspaper with the crossword he was working on.

Judy rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's not appropriate child-rearing technique."

"Hey, that's how my mom raised me and I turned out fine," said Nick. Both Hunter and Judy looked at him skeptically. "I mean, eventually."

Hunter rolled his eyes and turned back to the crossword. "Say, do either of you know a four-letter word, ends with 'x', clue is 'long-horned savannah mammal'?"

"Oryx," said Nick and Judy simultaneously.

"Wow, that was remarkably fast."

The rabbit and fox exchanged puzzled glances. "That's a gimme one, Hunter," said Judy. "Everyone knows that."

"One of her neighbors is an oryx," added Nick. "You'd think a 'trained observer' like you would remember that."

Hunter turned away. "Hey, I know lots of four-letter words. They just don't usually show up on crossword puzzles."

Tavi walked in. "Sorry, I was almost late, huh?" She bounced up onto the seat next to Hunter. "Ready to go make the world a better place?" she said cheerfully, playfully punching Hunter in the arm.

With a sigh, Hunter rolled up his newspaper and looked meaningfully at Tavi.

She looked uncertainly at him, then to Judy and Nick. "Why's he doing that?"

Before they could say anything, Chief Bogo walked in. Wearing a hat, Judy noted. Even so, she could just spot a glimpse of pink-dyed hair underneath. She made a mental note to avoid his attention for the foreseeable future.

The chief settled in behind his podium and eyed the assembled police mammals. "I'll make this quick. We have another missing mammal case- Hopps is working it in conjunction with our detectives, so you can get the details from her. There is some evidence of foul play, so this case is a priority."

The chief looked up and he glared when he saw Hunter with his hand raised. "What?"

"Sir, per regs, aren't we not supposed to wear our covers indoors?" Hunter pointed to the cap on Bogo's head.

"I wrote those regs, Hunter."

"Oh, well, if being responsible for regulations means we can ignore them, I'm pretty sure there's a number of them that I-"

"Inspiring the creation of new regulations is not the same as writing them, Hunter."

The human settled back into his seat and crossed his arms. "Ain't that always the way. Never get credit for my creative work."

Bogo scowled at him. "You know, Hunter, if I find out you were responsible for- for how my meeting with the mayor went yesterday, I'm going to have you washing the patrol cars with the trusties from the jail for a year."

"Don't know what you're talking about, sir," said Hunter stolidly. "Besides, I think you look pretty in pink."

There was a long, awkward silence.

Hunter looked at Nick, nervously. "Too far?" he whispered.

Nick held up a paw to hide his face from Hunter. "Why are you talking to me, mammal I don't know?"

"So the mayor said we need to put an officer near the spaceport in the major tourist areas, now that we're getting more and more human tourists into Zootopia," said the chief finally, with an eerie lack of emotion. "It's a great opportunity for community relations and to have meaningful interaction with the public."

"Oh, shit," muttered Hunter.

"Sounds like a good fit for you, Hunter," said Bogo. "Maybe you'll learn something."

"Can I just say-"

"No."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hello, officer!" said the woman brightly to Hunter. "Wow, what kind of animal-"

"Mammal," whispered a man- presumably her husband- standing beside her. "They call themselves mammals."

"Oh, sorry! What kind of mammal are you?"

Hunter gave her a blank look. He looked down at Tavi, standing next to him, who shrugged. He looked back at the expectant tourist.

"I'm a capybara."

"Oh, wow, I swear you look like a regular person! Can I get a picture with you?"

"No."

"Hunter," said Tavi warningly. "The chief-"

Hunter sighed. "Fine. But don't throw up on my boots like the last guy."


	6. Chapter 6

Judy and Nick were standing outside a house, which was much like many others they had been to except for the extremely loud domestic disturbance that was currently occurring outside of it.

Actually, Nick thought, that was a pretty common feature of the houses they had been to.

"Okay, everyone settle down!" shouted Judy.

The two raccoons- boyfriend and girlfriend, from what they had picked up so far- continued arguing.

"Well, that worked well," observed Nick.

"We're going to have to separate them," said Judy. "You want the male or the female?"

"I really don't want either one. I doubt anyone does. Maybe we should just let them shout it out?"

Judy cupped her paws to her mouth. "Calm down!" she yelled.

Neither raccoon paid her any attention, though they did raise their voices slightly.

The two cops watched them for a moment. "Well, we tried," said Nick brightly. "I say we go home."

Judy looked around, and cocked her head as she looked at the older model sedan in the arguing mammals' driveway. It was poking slightly out into the street. "I've got an idea."

She retrieved her parking ticket book and walked towards the car.

Almost immediately, both raccoons stopped arguing and stared at her.

She flipped open the ticket book.

Immediately, the two raccoons approached, waving their arms and shouting. "What do you think you're doing? You can't write us a ticket!"

Nick approached. "Yes, this is much better. Now they're shouting at us instead of each other."

Judy simply closed her ticket book. The raccoons hesitated, then started to argue with one another again once they decided she wasn't writing them a ticket.

Judy opened the ticket book.

They turned back to her, opening their mouths.

She closed it again.

They stopped, confused and wary.

For a long moment, there was silence.

"Okay," said Judy. "You-" she pointed to the male raccoon "-go talk to my partner. I'll talk to your girlfriend."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick sat back in the passenger seat, massaging his forehead. "I don't know how those two can stand each other. I've got a headache after talking to them for twenty minutes."

"Well, at least they can say they deserve one another," muttered Judy. It had taken some doing, but they had convinced the two quarrelling lovers to leave each other alone and cool off for awhile.

The boyfriend was already in the beat-up sedan in the driveway. He started it and the engine ground to life, before backfiring loudly.

"Sounds like their car is about as functional as their relationship," Judy observed. She glanced at Nick and froze.

The fox was staring forward, his eyes wide, ears back. His eyes were unfocused, and his breath came in short, panicky pants. "Nick!"

He blinked and shook himself. Judy reached out to touch his arm and realized he was shaking.

"Nick, what's wrong?"

"I'm-" he swallowed. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

She watched him carefully. "Where were you?"

"I was right here," he said, lamely.

"No, you weren't." Unbuckling her seat belt, she hopped up next to him. In the large patrol car, there was plenty of room for both of them in one seat. "I know when you're with me, and when you're not, Nick."

He swallowed again and covered his eyes, but not before she saw the hint of tears. "I've just been on edge, Carrots. There's a lot going on."

"You need to talk to someone about this, Nick." _You need to talk to me._ "You almost died. We went through some scary stuff. It's natural to have- to have a reaction to that."

He looked away. "You don't."

She leaned against him. "Yes, I do. I've had nightmares- some nights I barely get any sleep. It's okay."

After a moment, he let out a breath. "Sorry, Judy."

"Sorry?" She leaned back and looked up at him, puzzled. "Sorry for what?"

"For you having to deal with this," said Nick quietly. "I didn't want you to worry."

"You're my best friend," said Judy. She took his face in her paws. "Making you happy- helping you get through whatever you're going through is not a burden- it's a privilege. It means that I'm important to you- just like you're important to me."

Nick smiled a bit, wiped his eyes. "Well, gosh, Carrots, you keep this up and I might start to think you actually love me," he said, somewhat hoarsely.

She tilted her head at him and smiled.

He pulled her into a hug. "So keep it up."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You're not a capybara."

Hunter looked down at the human child. "Well, if you knew, why did you ask?"

"Capybaras are large rodents. They're cool looking! You just look like a-"

"-like a what?" asked Hunter in a dangerous tone.

Tavi tugged at his pants. "Hunter!"

The kid grinned. "Like a pig!"

Hunter growled.

"Oink, oink! Hey, does someone smell bacon?" The kid laughed as he turned and walked off.

Hunter took a step towards him, fists clenched, and realized something was slowing him down. He looked down to see Tavi wrapped around one leg.

"Hunter! You can't fight a child!"

The human glared at the kid. "No, I think I can take him. He's got speed but I've got the reach."

"That's not what I meant!"

Hunter sighed. "I'm about sick of dealing with idiot tourists. I could really go for a good murder or bank robbery or some-"

Down the street, there was a sudden scream, which was taken up by more people.

Tavi's ears perked up and she dashed off, Hunter right behind her.

"I didn't mean it!" shouted Hunter as he tried to keep up with his much quicker partner.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter slowed as he and Tavi approached the scene of the disturbance. He and Tavi pushed their way through a small crowd of gawkers, until they found themselves in a clear area. More or less in the center of the crowd, a wild-eyed human in a rumpled business suit paced in a tight circle, mumbling to himself.

An ocelot female grabbed his arm. "Officer! That human- he came out of nowhere and started grabbing people, screaming that someone was after him! I think he's gone savage!"

Hunter blinked, but shook her off as gently as he could. "Okay, okay, we've got it from here. Everyone back up, give us some space!" he shouted.

The man in the suit glanced briefly at Hunter when he shouted, but returned to his pacing and muttering almost immediately. The crowd hesitantly moved back a few paces, which was not much but would have to do.

Hunter looked at the man. "Hey, buddy, what's going on?" he asked, gently.

The man glanced at him. That was actually a good sign- he wasn't completely incognizant of his surroundings.

Tavi, uncertain how to proceed, moved around slightly so she would be able to keep an eye on the human and her partner at the same time.

Hunter took a cautious step towards the man. "My name's Zach," he said calmly. He kept his hands low, but in front of him in case he was abruptly rushed. "You're not in any trouble. I'm just here to help you."

As Hunter got closer, the man suddenly seemed to pay attention to him. He jerked back, his eyes staring. Hunter blinked when he saw the man's eyes- the pupils were constricted, barely even visible. Suddenly uncertain, he shifted his stance, blading his body towards the man.

"Who are you?" shouted the man. "Why have you come?"

"I'm Zach," repeated Hunter. "You looked like you might need some help. That's why I'm here." He spoke calmly but authoritatively. Tone was as or more important than the actual words.

"They're after me," muttered the man. "I always knew they'd come."

"Just relax-"

With a convulsive move, the man rushed Hunter, who barely brought his hands up in time. Hunter heard the crowd cry out as he deftly moved to one side, avoiding the sudden charge, and shoved the man in the back. He stumbled and fell and Hunter was on him immediately.

Hunter threw his weight onto the man's back and bore him all the way to the ground. He grabbed the man's arm and, with a grunt, pulled it behind his back. His other hand had already reached for his handcuffs, and he managed to slap the cuffs on the man's arm.

Tavi rushed up. "What do I do?" she shouted. She dodged back as the man's free arm scrabbled at her.

Hunter hesitated only briefly. "Just talk to him- try to calm him down." For this sort of thing, his small partner just didn't have the mass to help- if the crazed man got a hold on her, he could easily squeeze her to death without even realizing what he was doing. "Stay out of his reach, Tavi!"

The mongoose didn't appear to hear. She dove at the man's flailing arm and he grasped her tail as she tried to skip back. "Tavi!"

She squeaked as he jerked his hand forward, and the motion caused her to fall backward and strike her head on the pavement. She went limp.

Hunter snarled.

Still gripping the cuff on the man's wrist, he snaked his other arm around the man's throat and applied pressure.

Steady pressure against someone's windpipe will eventually knock them out, but it takes a while. Steady pressure against the big blood vessels in their neck, however, will cut off blood flow to the brain, and unconsciousness results in seconds. It doesn't matter how big you are, how high you are, without oxygen being carried to the brain you go to sleep.

It can also kill someone, but right now Hunter needed him to stop hurting his partner, and this was better than shooting him in the back of the head, which was the next option if this didn't work.

The man's flailing slowed, then stopped. Hunter, panting, quickly checked on his partner. He gently laid a finger along her throat, and breathed out in relief when he felt her steady, rapid pulse. Even as he did, her eyes fluttered open. "Ow."

"Stay there," he ordered her. "Don't try to get up."

"I'm fine," she said shakily. She tried to sit up and, after a few tries, laid back down. "Or maybe I'll just stay here."

Hunter kept an eye on her, but in the meantime finished cuffing the man. He turned him over on his side and checked to ensure the man's airways were clear and he was breathing normally. Other than the rapid, almost hyperventilation of his breathing, he seemed fine.

Hunter keyed his mike. "Unit Forty-four Delta," he said, still panting.

Clawhauser's cheerful voice came back. "Hey, Hunter. You sound tired."

"Had to forcibly restrain a human male, approximately-" he glanced over the man "-forty to fifty years of age. Suspected drug overdose. Send an ambulance for him and my partner. She took a nasty blow to the head, but she's conscious if a bit woozy."

There was the slightest of pauses. "Are you guys okay?"

"I think we're all right. Just get the medics out here, okay?"

"On the way, Forty-four Delta."

A woman pushed her way through the crowd. "Howard!" she shouted when she spotted the man on the ground. She rushed forward. "That's my husband!" She stared at his wide eyes- he had regained consciousness- and glared at Hunter. "What did you do to him?"

"He was having some kind of psychotic break, ma'am," said Hunter wearily. "We had to restrain him."

"Never should have let humans on our world," said a voice in the crowd. "They've been nothing but trouble."

The woman whirled. "Who said that?"

The crowd just watched her sullenly.

"Ma'am," said Hunter quickly, trying to defuse the situation and get some information at the same time. "Does your husband have any kind of mental illness or substance abuse problems?"

The woman turned back to him and drew herself up. "Of course not! He's a prominent attorney, here on business. How dare you treat him like this! You could have killed him."

Hunter narrowed his eyes at her, and she stopped as she caught his gaze. "Ma'am, he was about to seriously injure my partner. If a sleeper hold hadn't worked, I would have shot him."

"Your partner?" She looked down and finally noticed Tavi, who was able to sit up. "That's just some sort of weasel! Didn't you hear me? Howard is a famous attorney!"

"Ma'am, all things considered, I'll take a weasel over a lawyer any day."

 _Author's Note: That last joke is a little tricky- I may edit it a bit later. I feel like there's a punchier way to do that, er, punchline._

 _A couple things I wanted to mention-_

 _The gyrojet- the gun that fires miniature rockets I mentioned earlier- is a real thing. Look it up if you're curious- it's pretty cool, though generally impractical. I was thinking about how a small mammal like Hopps could carry a gun that had enough kinetic energy to be useful, and hit on this idea because of the relative lack of recoil. I modified it a bit for reasons. Yes, in other words I spent an indeterminate amount of time thinking about firearm design for rabbits. I love speculative fiction._

 _This chapter brings up one of the plot/character elements that will start to become a bit more important later on- mental illness and post traumatic stress. So if that sort of thing bothers you, I'm letting you know now. I intend to treat it seriously, however. One of the reasons I bring it up is that I'm always a bit annoyed by how often cop shows- even some of the more realistic ones- tend to downplay the effects of the traumatic experiences they show. I get that a lot of times it's not great television, but there are times, especially in the more dramatic ones, where they miss out on a lot of good character development. Don't take anything in here, however, as bonafide therapy- I'm not a shrink, though I try to do my research._

 _Oh, and one more thing- sleeper holds are a major "don't try this at home" thing. You can easily kill someone with a sleeper hold, sometimes even if you do it right. Hunter used it because at that point he was legally allowed to use lethal force, and a sleeper hold was safer to use on the resisting subject than shooting him would have been._

 _The next chapter should be a doozy, by the way- don't miss it!_


	7. Chapter 7

Nick lounged on a chair in McHorn's office, tapping away at his phone. Beside him, Judy was reviewing the report she had done on Harris's disappearance. She checked her phone for the time in frustration. "He's doing this deliberately. He's nearly half an hour late."

Nick shrugged. "Ever since he had that run-in on the Susslun case with Hunter, he hasn't like us much. Can't be fun to have a homicide case taken away from you and given to a patrol officer."

"It's not right. He can at least be professional about it."

The door suddenly opened and McHorn, a rhino detective who had been fairly recently promoted from patrol, stumped in. "Hopps, Wilde," he said dismissively. He sat down behind his desk. "So you're going to be working for me on this missing mammal case."

" _With_ you," corrected Wilde.

The rhino looked at him. "I'm the detective, you're the beat cop. I'm in charge of the case, Wilde."

"We did the initial legwork, McHorn. What have you turned up so far?"

The detective hesitated. "I've got a lot on my plate."

Wilde eyed the bulky cop. "Doesn't look like your plate stays full for very long."

Judy sighed. "Nick, this isn't helping. Be professional."

"Hey, I'm as professional as _hell_."

McHorn snorted. "Yeah, right. How professional is it to date your partner?" Judy glared at him.

Nick bristled. "You want to bring personal lives into it, McHorn? How's wife number- what, three?"

"Four. And she's just great!"

"Finally picked one that could stand you, huh? Well, they do say practice makes perfect."

"That's enough!" shouted Judy. Both male cops turned to stare at her as she stood on her chair, practically vibrating with anger. "Stop acting like children and let's see if we can't do our job and _try to help an innocent mammal_!"

Nick and McHorn glanced at each other, then looked abashed. "Sorry," muttered Nick.

McHorn started to say something, then thought better of it when Judy cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay, fine. You asked if there were any other missing mammal reports- here you go." He brought out a stack of folders from behind his desk and set it down with a thump. "Thirty in the last month."

Nick and Judy glanced at one another. "Thirty?"

The rhino shrugged. "Street mammals. Homeless. They tend to disappear, sometimes their families actually report them missing. They usually turn up. It's getting to be winter, so quite a few of them sort of, well, migrate to where it's warmer."

Nick picked up the first folder, glanced inside. He showed it to Judy.

"There's less here than in the Otterton case," said Judy.

"Hell, Otterton was a 'priority' case," said McHorn. "Family man, goes missing? That's unusual. Mammal diagnosed with schizophrenia? A lot less so."

"This is normal for the time of year, you said?" asked Nick, flipping through some of the other folders.

"More or less."

Judy looked at him. "Yeah, that's what we asked. More? Or less?"

McHorn sighed in annoyance, turned to his computer. "Let's see." He typed carefully at it, pecking away slowly as Nick gave Judy an exasperated glance.

Finally, he looked up. "Okay, according to this, we're about average, though maybe a bit higher than usual. Call it two to three more cases than we might expect." He shrugged again. "Well within normal variance, though."

Judy sighed. "Well, I'll take the reports anyway. Maybe there's some sort of connection."

"Suit yourself." McHorn pushed the stack of folders towards them. As Nick and Judy each took half, he spoke up again. "Mammals go missing, Hopps. Most of them because they want to be. You can't save everybody."

"But we can at least try," said Nick.

Judy looked at him and smiled.

McHorn shrugged. "Easy to say. Of course, you realize that you might be trying to save them from themselves."

Judy hesitated as she was walking out the door, looked back at the older mammal. "Maybe they just need a friend, someone to take an interest in them."

"We're not paid to be someone's friend," said McHorn dismissively.

"No," replied Judy. "It's something we do on our own."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"How do you feel, rookie?" asked Hunter, his tone cheerful to mask his worry. Tavi sat on the back of the ambulance. Nearby, another ambulance crew was checking out the restrained human who they had taken down, his wife hovering anxiously nearby.

"Like someone picked me up by the tail and slammed me into the concrete," replied Tavi. A rabbit medic was shining a light into her eyes.

"Any nausea or dizziness?" asked the medic.

"No, I feel fine, just sore," said Tavi.

"I'd like to get you checked out at the hospital," said the rabbit. "If you lost consciousness-"

"She did," put in Hunter.

"-there's the possibility of a concussion."

"I feel fine," insisted Tavi.

Hunter leaned towards her. "Tavi, listen. You need to go see a doctor right now. And probably take some time off, just in case."

"You just want to get rid of me," she said lightly.

He snorted. "Well, sure, but it looks bad if a rookie dies on me. There will be all sorts of paperwork."

"Who will watch your back if I'm off?"

"Hey, rookie, I can take care of myself."

She grinned at him. "You know you've got something on your neck?"

He frowned. "Huh?"

She grabbed an alcohol wipe from the ambulance and moved up next to him. Deftly, she wiped his neck and held it out to him. "See?"

There was a bluish-purple smear on the cloth. Hunter sighed. "Wilde. He wiped blueberry filling on my jacket yesterday. I could have sworn I had gotten it all off."

"See? You need someone to look after you," said Tavi. She smiled at him. After a moment, he smiled back.

The rabbit paramedic glanced between them. "Um, maybe I should, er, leave you two alone..."

Both cops looked at him incredulously. "What?" said Hunter. "No, it's not- she's my rookie!" He paused. "And a mongoose."

The rabbit pursed his lips. "You have something against mongooses- mongoosi-" He stopped.

"Mongooses," muttered Tavi.

"It's mongoosen, don't listen to her." Hunter shook his head. "She's like, a tenth my size. Geeze, this planet is weird sometimes."

"But interesting," said a dry voice.

Hunter froze. Tavi was about to say something, but stopped when she saw his face. His dark skin had paled, and his eyes were wide. She shivered.

It was the first time she had ever seen her training officer look frightened.

Slowly, Hunter turned to face the speaker.

A man wearing a nondescript gray suit, neither shabby nor flashy, who stood a few meters away from the ambulance, an expression of dry amusement on his face. Hunter stared at him.

"Where did you come from?" he asked, his voice cold.

"From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it," said the man. "Do I know you?"

"Stay here," ordered Hunter to Tavi.

She looked at Hunter's set face, at the man leaning casually against a wall. "But-"

"Stay. Here." She watched him walk towards the man.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter got closer, and the man looked at him with vague interest. "Is there a problem, officer?"

"You're dead," said Hunter calmly.

For a long moment, the man just looked at him. "I'm trying to decide how to refute your argument, and I haven't come up with anything better than, 'No, I'm not.'"

"How are you- why are you here, Lucas?"

Lucas shrugged. "I go where my work takes me."

Hunter moved closer, Lucas remaining in his casual position, hands in his pockets. "That's your game, then? More cryptic answers to simple questions?"

"Oh, it's a game to you, is it?" Lucas glanced over his shoulder at Tavi. The mongoose had hopped down from the ambulance, but was just out of earshot. "I'm willing to play. I'll give you the first move. By the way, is that your partner? She looks to be just adorable. I wonder what she's really like." He paused, looking Hunter in the eye. "You know. _Inside._ "

His eyes bugged out as Hunter punched him hard in the solar plexus. With a gasp, he doubled over. Hunter followed up with an uppercut with his other fist.

Hunter grabbed him by the collar, preventing him from falling to the ground. He leaned over to speak into the man's ear. "You watch your mouth, Lucas."

"An interesting-" Lucas tried to catch his breath. "-first move. A bit-" he gasped again. "Direct, don't you think?"

"You want a game, Lucas?" With a smooth motion, Hunter drew his sidearm, brought the muzzle up under Lucas's chin. "How about a rousing round of Russian roulette? You go first."

The other man eyed him. "That's a semi-automatic, Hunter."

"I never said it'd be a long game, did I?"

Lucas's eyes flicked towards the ground. Immediately afterward, Hunter felt a familiar tug at his pants leg. "Hunter!"

He glanced down before returning his eyes to Lucas. "Tavi."

"What are you doing?" she half-shouted. "There are mammals everywhere!"

He looked around. Sure enough, a number of shocked mammals were staring at Hunter and Lucas. Several had their cell phones out, recording.

Lucas grinned. "They don't have the death penalty here, do they? Still, I doubt you want to spend the rest of your life in prison, Hunter. I assure you, I'm not the man you think I am. I have identification to prove it."

For a long moment, Hunter stared at him. He cocked the pistol.

Lucas's smile slipped, just for a moment.

With a nod, Hunter stepped back, de-cocking his sidearm. "I'm going to find you, Lucas."

The other man straightened his jacket. "I suspect I'll find you first." He started to turn, then glanced back. "After all, I already have."

With an insouciant wave, he walked off.

Hunter looked down at Tavi, who was staring at him in shock. "Who was that?" she whispered.

Hunter watched the other human walk away. "A dead man."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He did what now?" Judy stared at the mongoose as they walked together down the hall in the police station.

"Punched a guy in broad daylight!" said the rookie, who was shivering nervously. "Twice!"

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "Where is he now?"

From down the hall, they heard the sound of a door slam, then Bogo's voice. "HUNTER!"

"Talking to the chief," said the mongoose miserably. "Are they going to fire me?"

"You didn't do anything," said Judy reassuringly. "And I'm sure he had a reason."

The sounds from the chief's office rose, though muffled enough that they couldn't make anything out, until the door swung open again.

Hunter walked out, his face carefully neutral. He walked down the hallway, coming to a sudden halt as he saw the three smaller mammals approach him.

"What the hell, Hunter?" asked Nick.

The human looked at him, then without answering turned to his rookie. "You're fine, rookie. You didn't do anything and reported the incident right away."

"I didn't report anything!" protested the mongoose. "I-"

Hunter held up a few pages of a document. "Yeah, you did. Or someone did, using your name, maybe a more experienced officer that wanted to make sure you didn't get in trouble because of his stupidity." He paused. "It was me, in case that wasn't clear. Keeps you out of trouble."

Tavi stared at him.

"What about you?" asked Judy.

"Suspended. Would have been fired, but Lucas never complained- I sort of expected that." Hunter shrugged. "I'm not a complete idiot. Although I'm probably still going to get fired once the investigation is complete."

"Who is this guy?" demanded Nick. "Someone from AlphaCen, I take it?"

"His name is Lucas. That's all you need to know."

Both Judy and Nick glared at him. "You got suspended because you punched this guy, and it sounds like he was threatening you from what Tavi said," Judy pointed out. "And we're your friends."

Hunter shook his head. "Sorry, but it's safer this way. I can take care of myself."

Judy tapped her foot in frustration. "What's with this guy? What has he done?"

For a long moment, Hunter tried to stare her down, but finally looked away. "What has he done?" he repeated tonelessly.

"Whatever he wanted to."

With that, their friend walked past them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: For those who don't know firearms, Russian roulette is a "game" (actually a sophisticated form of suicide) where the "player" puts a single round in a revolver then spins the cylinder. Then they pull the trigger with the gun to their head. If the chamber is on the loaded round, the gun goes off and they die. A semi-automatic is magazine fed, so there's no cylinder and no randomness- there will always be a round loaded assuming one is carrying with a round chambered, as cops generally (read: virtually always) do. Playing Russian roulette is a Darwin Award. Playing Russian roulette with a semi-automatic is a Darwin Award with Honors._

 _In case anyone is wondering, Hunter would (and will, assuming nothing else happens) get fired and almost certainly indicted for this incident regardless of whether the victim came forward, since it's on video and there are other witnesses. I generally follow police procedure, but Rule of Drama intervenes occasionally. Still, there will be consequences._

 _So this is the point where this story starts to get darker. I still intend to include jokes to try and lighten the mood, but it's not going to be quite as funny as I've tried to be before. However, as an antidote to that, I've been toying with the idea of some parody fics using Zootopia characters. For example, a Zootopia version of_ Dragnet. _It would look something like this:_

This is the city. Zootopia. A place where predators and prey live together in harmony. Founded on the site of an ancient water-hole where evolved mammals first began working out how to live together, it's a place where mammals can be anything they want to be, where the range of choices are near-endless. Most mammals make themselves successful, raise their families, create a home. Other mammals make other kinds of choices, preying on the honest and hard-working. That's where I come in. My name is Hopps. I carry a badge.

(Dragnet title music)

The story you are about to read is true.* The names have been changed to protect the innocent.**

*This story is not true.

**The names are made up because this is fiction.

 _This is primarily writing practice for me, so this opens up a lot of possibilities. If you want to see a parody of a particular work, please note it in a review or PM me. I will try to do one, though subject to the following caveats:_

 _Some works just won't, er, work. For example, a_ Terminator _parody has little to do with Zootopia. It doesn't have to be a police drama/comedy, but it should be something that would be interesting to parody using the Zootopian universe. Examples of non-police works that I've already considered include_ The Dresden Files, Scrubs, _and_ Burn Notice.

 _If I'm not familiar with it, and it's something that will take a long time for me to familiarize myself with (such as most anime, which tends to have very long and detailed story-lines), I probably won't be able to do it. If it's a single movie and I enjoy it, I may watch it and then try to do a parody._

 _Most parodies will have me run out of good jokes pretty quickly. So they'll tend to be short (maybe 2500-5000 words, tops)._

 _Some things just won't click with me- humor is difficult to write well. I'll do my best- this is intended to challenge me- but if I can't come up with something good, I can't do it._

 _But feel free to ask me for anything. This will be fun for me and you guys, I think, and will also challenge me creatively, which is my main goal here. Thanks!_


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm working this case," insisted Tavi.

Judy and Nick exchanged glances. "Maybe you should stay out of it-" began Judy, but was immediately interrupted by the mongoose.

"He's my _partner_ , Judy," she said firmly. "Would you stay out of it if it was Nick?"

They both gaped at her. "That's, um, that's different-" said Nick.

Tavi rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I mean, he's my friend. I have to help him."

"He doesn't sound like he wants our help," observed Nick.

"You can get into trouble, Tavi. It's not the sort of thing a brand-new officer should get themselves mixed up in," warned Judy.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you," said Tavi. "You took down the _mayor_. And then took down the new mayor." She held up two fingers. "That's two mayors. In a row."

Nick looked at Judy. "She's got you there."

Judy sighed. "Okay, fine. So what do we know?"

"Hunter hates some guy named Lucas," said Nick. "That's not real helpful. Hunter hates a lot of people, though I don't know how many are named Lucas."

"He doesn't just hate him," said Tavi. She shuddered. "I saw his face when he first saw him. He's _afraid_ of him."

"The only thing I've ever seen Hunter afraid of is paperwork," said Nick pensively. "Maybe the guy is an auditor."

"I don't think Hunter would lose his job to punch and threaten an auditor," said Judy.

"I don't know, I think I might."

"Yeah, but Hunter actually paid taxes, unlike some mammals in the room."

Tavi frowned. "You didn't pay taxes?"

"Okay, well, we know he's human, so that probably means he came from AlphaCen," said Nick hastily. "So what do we know about Hunter from when he was in First Landing?"

There was a long silence. "Virtually nothing," Judy finally answered.

"So who would know?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy looked at the three mammals curiously. "Hunter did what now?"

"Punched a guy and threatened to shoot him," said Tavi.

Nick held up two fingers. "Twice."

"He threatened to shoot him twice, or punched him twice?"

Nick looked at her curiously. "Does it matter?"

Koroliy shrugged. "Not really. Hey, Hirsch."

The other FLPD cop looked up from his desk. "What?"

"Who do you know that Hunter would punch and threaten in broad daylight?"

Hirsch frowned. "Here in Zootopia, or in general? Because it's kind of a long list." He thought about it. "Though the list of people that would punch him is probably longer."

"Who would he be afraid of?" asked Tavi. "Because he was afraid of this guy."

Both human cops looked at her. "That doesn't sound like Hunter. You have to be sane to be afraid," said Koroliy.

"Anna," said Hirsch warningly.

She shot him a look. "He's nuts, everyone says so."

"He said the man's name was Lucas," said Tavi. "Does that mean anything to you?"

The FLPD officers considered that briefly. "Sounds vaguely familiar," said Hirsch after a moment. "But most names do when you work this job long enough- what about you, Koroliy? You used to work with him."

She shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell. You are sure he said Lucas?"

Tavi nodded. "Yeah."

Both cops shrugged. "Sorry," said Koroliy.

The door to the office swung open, and Clawhauser's face appeared. "There you guys are."

Nick looked at him. "Yep, here we guys are. What's up?"

"Chief wants to see you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A few minutes later, Tavi, Nick, and Judy all stood in front of Bogo's desk. The water buffalo frowned at them. "What do you three think you're doing?"

"Protecting and serving the citizens of this fine city, sir!" said Nick, snapping to attention.

"Uh-huh. You and Hopps are supposed to be working the Harris case, aren't you?"

"We are," protested Judy.

"By talking to Koroliy and Hirsch?" Bogo looked at her, his gaze steady. "Or are you investigating Hunter's little problem?"

"Sir," said Tavi, her voice coming out as a squeak. She cleared her throat. "We just want to know-"

"Be quiet, Officer Tavi." He looked back at Judy and Nick. "Internal Affairs is investigating. You two stay out of it."

"He's our friend," said Judy.

Bogo winced. "And that's exactly why you should stay out of it. Do you three realize just how much trouble he's in? He assaulted and threatened a citizen- a foreign national!- on a busy street. We have three cell phone videos showing it! He's going to be lucky to just get fired- most likely, he'll be indicted."

Judy's ears went back. "He had some sort of reason, Chief, I know he did. He wouldn't just do that."

Bogo nodded. "I'd like to think so, too, Hopps. But we've checked into this guy. Lucas Jaeger- _Doctor_ Lucas Jaeger. He's clean- no wants, no warrants, no criminal history. He's here as part of the scientific exchange we have with the Human Stars. He even let us interview him- he says Hunter assaulted him for no reason, but he won't press charges because he thinks Hunter is just, well-"

"Crazy," finished Judy dejectedly. "There's something else going on here, Chief, I know it."

"We're talking about the mammal who somehow gave me a pink mohawk before my meeting with the mayor," said Bogo dryly. "I think crazy might be a reasonable assumption."

"Well, you don't know that he did that," said Nick carefully. "I mean, it could have been anyone-" he trailed off as everyone turned to look at him.

Bogo stared at him. "Like who?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Uh."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The three cops walked out of the office, their ears still ringing. "That could have gone better," muttered Judy.

"Hey, I came clean to him. It was just a prank," said Nick defensively.

"Did you stop to consider that the appropriate time to reveal that you embarrassed the chief was probably not when we were trying to convince him that we were responsible enough to be involved in this investigation?" asked Tavi, her voice shrill. "Are you insane?"

Nick glared at her. "Better than him thinking Hunter did it."

Tavi stopped and faced him, paws on her hips. "It would have been better if you had never done it, Wilde. Internal Affairs isn't going to help Hunter, the only mammals that can are right here! And you blew that chance!"

"Listen, rookie," said Nick angrily. "We're his friends, too. But we need to face facts, here. I don't care what this 'Lucas' guy did, Hunter crossed the line."

Tavi stared at him. "What are you saying?"

The fox stepped closer to her, jabbed a finger. "I'm saying that we might not be able to help him. That if he wants help, he'll ask for it."

"You're just going to give up on him?" asked Judy quietly.

The fox sighed. "No. He's our friend, and I'll do what I can for him. But he made his bed, and I don't know that we can stop him from having to lie in it."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo picked up his phone. "Chief of Police."

"It's Officer Anna Koroliy, sir, FLPD."

The water buffalo frowned. "Koroliy? You're one of the FLPD firearms instructors, right?"

"Yes, sir. I heard about Hunter."

Bogo scowled. "That's an internal matter."

"Yes, sir. But there's something you should know."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Paperwork," muttered Nick. "That's one thing I do agree with Hunter about." He flipped through the case folder. "The fact that we can generate so much paperwork to say we don't know anything and have no leads amazes me."

Judy glanced at him from her own stack of missing mammal reports. "It's more than I had to work with when I was investigating Otterton."

"No," pointed out Nick. "You had the services of an amazingly handsome and brilliant fox."

"Really? I wish I had known- I bet the case would have gone much faster if I had run into him instead of you."

"You're cute when you're sarcastic, Carrots."

"Watch it, fox," warned Judy. "That's a bunny word." She flipped the page in the folder she was reading, then frowned and flipped back.

"You find something?" asked Nick, suppressing a yawn. "You have that 'something's not right here' look on your face."

"Most of these mammals were homeless," said Judy. "But two of them were in community care. Both of their caretakers said they seemed to be fine on medication, though both were diagnosed with schizophrenia."

"So they went off their meds and disappeared." Nick glanced at the folders in front of him. "It seems to be a fairly common theme."

"No, that's the thing. They were compliant with medication right up until their disappearance- no police or medical call outs, no recent history of problems."

Nick frowned. "The caretakers might not have known if they stopped taking their meds. Or maybe they used a street drug of some kind? Might have tipped them over into mental crisis."

"I suppose," said Judy slowly. "Hey, didn't Tavi say they had to take down a human having some kind of psychotic break?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing, I guess." She shrugged. "I'm just curious."

"You know what they say about curiosity killing the cat, right?"

"I'm not a cat."

They both looked at the door as it opened. Clawhauser poked his head into the room. "Hey, Nick, I heard you were the one who pulled the Pink Mohawk Prank. How'd you do it?"

Nick glanced at Judy, a disgruntled expression on his face. "Yeah, but he is."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tavi walked into the bar rather nervously. It was obviously designed for much larger mammals- there were no small tables for mammals of her size. Instead, the seats alone towered over her. She looked around and spotted a lion and tiger eyeing her curiously. "Excuse me," she said. "I'm looking for a human named Hunter."

The lion turned back to his drink. The tiger cocked an eyebrow. "You mean Zach?"

She blinked. Few of the mammals at the station called him by his first name. "Zach Hunter," she said, uncertainly.

The tiger gestured with a claw. "Over there."

She nodded her thanks and walked towards the back of the bar, where a few booths were set up for privacy. She glanced at each one, noting this was definitely a predator bar as she saw a bear and a wolf drinking in two separate booths. The third one she came to held a familiar face. "Hunter," she said with relief.

The human looked up at her in confusion. "Tavi? What are you doing here?"

With some difficulty, she scrambled up into the seat opposite him, then- after realizing the table was almost higher than her head- jumped up onto the table in front of him. "Looking for you."

Hunter shook his head. "Don't you know anything, rookie? You're not supposed to hang around cops who are under investigation. Looks bad." He threw back his drink and gestured for another to a nearby waitress.

Tavi looked at the emptied glass, looked back at him. "Should you be drinking?"

"I'm about to lose my job, because I let myself lose control," said Hunter. "I'm likely going to be thrown out of ZPD so fast I'll bounce clear to Savannah Square. So yeah, I think this is a good time to drink."

"It may not be that bad," said Tavi.

"Honey, it's about as bad as it can be, and I'm sorry I got you into this. I lost it." The waitress arrived with another drink. "Rule Ten. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. And hate leads to- paperwork." He glanced at Tavi. "You want a drink? They have something a lot like scotch here. Well, it's wet and alcoholic, but otherwise nothing like scotch, but those are the important parts right now."

"No," said Tavi firmly. "So your plan is to sit here and drink until you fall over?"

"No, my plan is to sit here and drink until I'm just short of falling over, then take a cab home. At that point falling over becomes optional." He sipped his drink. "Though possibly preferable."

"We're worried about you," said Tavi.

Hunter looked at her, quirked an eyebrow. "We? I just see you, Tavi."

"Judy, Nick and I."

"Still just see you." He waved a hand in the air, stifling her protest. "They're being smart. I screwed up, and the last thing I want to do is bring you guys down with me."

"I'm not stupid for trying to be a friend," said Tavi.

"Yeah, you are." Hunter sighed. "Look, Tavi, you're a good kid, but this one's on me. Don't get yourself mixed up in this."

"Kid?" Tavi looked confused. "What do goats have to do with this?"

Hunter stared at her. "Huh?"

"Look, Hunter," said Tavi. "Who is this Lucas guy? Why did you- why did you do what you did?"

For a long moment, Hunter just stared into his drink. "Are people- mammals- evil, Tavi?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Simple question. Are we good, overall, or bad?"

She frowned, trying to work out where he was going with this. "Good, mostly, though sometimes we do bad things."

"Yeah." Hunter took another sip of his drink. "That's what I used to think, too. But you'll see some things in this job, rookie, that you can't stop seeing. That make you question whether there can be any good in the world anywhere."

The mongoose shivered. "I don't understand," she said softly.

"You want to know what I know, Tavi?" said Hunter, his voice rising and slightly slurred. He leaned forward. "You want to know what a patrol cop learns when he's been on the beat long enough?"

She stepped back, nearly falling off the table. "Hunter..."

"You learn that for a lot of people, the only thing keeping them in line is force. That they'll do anything they want to do, if they can get away with it." He stood up, tossing a few bills onto the table. "That the only thing that stops them is a bullet."

Tavi shook her head. "It's not- not everybody is like that."

"Doesn't need to be everybody." Her trainer looked down at her. "Though I wonder what we would do, if we didn't fear the consequences? If we thought we had already lost everything?" He turned away.

"Hunter, stop."

He hunched his shoulders and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

Tavi walked into roll call the next day, her tail nearly dragging the ground, her ears back, the very picture of dejection. She noticed both Nick and Judy giving her concerned glances as she sat down. "You okay, Tavi?" asked Nick.

She slumped in her seat. "I talked to Hunter last night."

Both Nick and Judy winced. "Tavi, you need to let this go. We'll figure something out," said Judy.

Nick looked skeptically at her before turning back to Tavi. "Where did you find him?"

"In a- it doesn't matter."

"How's he holding up?"

"He thinks its hopeless," she said in a low tone. "He thinks he's going to get fired."

The three sat in silence.

The rest of the officers on duty filed in, most glancing at the three smallest mammal officers as they came in. Some looked sympathetic, others grim. Suddenly a familiar rhinoceros walked in and looked at the mongoose rookie. "Tavi?"

She looked up. "Sir?"

"Bogo talked to me. You're working with me today." He glanced at Nick and Judy. "Maybe I can correct any bad habits you might have been taught."

Nick bristled. "Bad habits, huh? Like going through wives like most mammals do cars? Or having four meals a day?"

The rhino glared at him. "You got a big mouth, fox."

"So do you, McHorn, you shovel enough food into it."

"I'm big-boned!"

"Yeah, and the biggest one is your head!" Several officers- who were pretending not to listen- chuckled.

The rhino's face turned red. "You think you're real smart, do you? You want to know something about your human buddy? I've been talking to the mammals at Internal Affairs, and they just found out what Hunter was doing before he became a cop. You want to learn something?"

Silence enveloped the roll call room as every officer gave up even the pretense of not listening. McHorn looked around, satisfied at the effect of his words as Nick and Judy gaped at him.

The rhino leaned forward. "You know why everyone thinks he's crazy? Because he is. Hunter was in a mental institution for the first six years of his adult life, and not because of something minor- he was a full-blown schizophrenic. The humans claim they can cure schizophrenia- that they have some way of fixing it once someone's brain stops developing or some crap like that. But we know better than that, don't we, _fox_? Some things you can't change, and sooner or later, a mammal's nature will come out." McHorn snorted disdainfully. "And no one should be surprised when it does." Nick leaned back, a stricken look on his face.

There was a long, shocked silence from the other mammals in the room.

Then, the room filled with the sounds of chairs scraping back. McHorn looked around, suddenly wary.

All around him, the patrol cops stared at him with dark expressions. Wolferd let out a growl, which was echoed by Delgato next to him.

McHorn hesitated.

Judy stood up, looked around at her coworkers. She glanced at Nick, whom Francine had moved up next to, her trunk resting companionably on his shoulder. Tavi looked on the verge of tears, but stared fiercely at the rhino. "You know what, McHorn?" said Judy. "I think it might be better if Tavi rides with someone else today."

The rhino cast another nervous look around the room, but tried to bluster his way through the glares. "Bogo ordered her-"

"That's _Chief_ Bogo," said the water buffalo as he walked into the room. He looked around. "As you were," he said mildly.

McHorn looked around. "You heard him."

"McHorn," said Bogo, his voice still cool. "See me in my office. Wolferd, Tavi rides with you today."

The rhino whirled. "But, sir-"

Bogo snorted loudly and stamped a foot, his short tail flicking in irritation. "McHorn, do you really want to have this conversation now? About spreading around information that's part of an on-going investigation? About making anti-predator statements in front of the entire day shift ZPD roll call?" He cocked an eyebrow at the rhino.

"Uh-" said McHorn nervously.

"The words you are looking for, McHorn, are 'no, sir'."

The rhino nodded. "No, sir."

"Now get out. The words you want now are-"

"Yes, sir." McHorn beat a hasty retreat.

Bogo watched him go, then turned back to the mammals in roll call. "Sit down," he said irritably. "Hopps, Wilde, you two still keep working that missing mammals case. Looks like you've been doing more work on it than my so-called detective. Wolferd, Tavi..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As Nick and Judy started to walk out the door, Bogo called to them. "Hopps, Wilde. One moment, please."

The rest of the cops filed out, a few stopping to pat Nick on the shoulder (or in the case of a few of the larger mammals, on the head). Nick acted irritated, but Judy could tell he was secretly thankful for the show of support. The fox and the rabbit stood in front of Bogo's podium.

As the last officer left, Bogo sighed. "McHorn shouldn't have said what he said," he told Nick, "but you need to show respect to him as well. He is a superior officer."

Nick muttered something under his breath.

"That joke's been done to death, Wilde," said Bogo irritably. "You know what I mean."

"Sorry, sir," said Nick.

For a moment Bogo watched him. "You need to be thick-skinned to be a cop, Wilde. You can never-"

"Let them see they got to me," finished Nick.

"No, it's worse than that. They cannot get to you, period. Whether it's a crook trying to provoke you into a police brutality suit, a defense attorney trying to make you lose your cool on the stand, or a sergeant trying to- rather stupidly- put you in your place, _you cannot let them get to you._ " Bogo emphasized the last words with a jab of his finger. "That means if someone like McHorn acts like a jerk to you, you say 'yes, sir' and 'no, sir' and 'three bags full, sir'."*

"Yes, sir."

Bogo nodded. "Perfect. Because now I don't know whether that was sincere or you're just full of it. See how easy that was?"

Nick's eyes widened, but then he cracked a smile. "Three bags full, sir."

"Ah, then you blew it. Well, keep working on it. Someday you may yet master the subtle art of near-insubordination. Now scram and try and do some police work." As they turned to leave, Bogo stopped them. "I nearly forgot. Hirsch wants to speak with you, he should be in the office we have set aside for he and Koroliy."

They both nodded and left.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

One thing Tavi had learned on the police department was that every cop had their own sort of style. Some were cheerful and friendly with citizens, others carefully neutral and cool, and some calibrated their approach to the citizen. She was gradually finding that these were just different ways, adjusted to a cop's particular personality, of doing the job while maintaining a level of professionalism.

Wolferd's technique seemed to be disbelieving anything and everything he was told.

"Do you know why I stopped you, ma'am?"

Tavi, on the passenger side, realized she couldn't see the driver. She backed up until she could see into the car as the driver, a female pig, looked at Wolferd. "Not really, officer."

"Really." Wolferd stared at her. "You don't know."

She shrugged nervously. "Sorry."

The wolf cop changed tack. "This is your car?"

"Yes, it is."

"So it's not stolen?" His voice was challenging.

The pig stared at him. "Of course not!"

"May I see your driver's license please?"

She handed him her license. "So why did you stop-"

"This is you?" asked Wolferd, his tone disbelieving.

"Of course it is!" she nearly shouted.

"Why are you facing away from the camera?"

"Because the sloth taking the picture took too long, and I was wondering what he was doing, and-"

"You're thirty years old?"

The pig blinked at him. "What?"

"You don't look thirty."

Her eyes narrowed. "Do you think I look older or younger?"

Tavi covered her eyes with one paw.

Wolferd appeared to realize he had gotten onto dangerous ground. "Er-"

Tavi spoke up. "He means younger, ma'am, obviously much younger. The reason we stopped you is that your left brake light isn't working."

The driver looked around in confusion. "Who's talking?"

Tavi sighed. "Down here."

The pig leaned over. "Oh, wow. Aren't you kind of small to be a cop?"

The mongoose frowned. "I'm large enough to write a ticket."

Wolferd glanced at his partner, then handed the license back to the driver. "We'll let you off with a warning, ma'am."

The pig gave them both odd looks and drove away.

Wolferd watched her go. "Wonder what her problem was?"

Tavi sighed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hirsch was just walking out of the office when Judy and Nick walked up. He glanced at them. "Oh, good, I was just about to try and find you. Look, the Highfall Armory guy is doing a demo later at the training range for a new ammo for your gun, Hopps. Supposed to get around that minimum lethal distance problem."

"We'll be there," said Judy. "Hirsch, we wanted to ask you something..."

The human sighed. "This is about Hunter and his background, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"Word travels fast. Plus, your chief had me up to tell him what I knew about it."

Nick frowned. "How did he find out about it anyway?"

"Koroliy told him." Both mammals narrowed their eyes. "It was probably the right thing to do. I personally don't think it affects him- he's done some weird things, but there's always a point behind it and most of the time his schemes work."

"Is there any chance he could be, well, reverting?" asked Judy. She didn't notice Nick tensing slightly.

"I doubt it- the science is pretty clear, and the neuroscientists who reviewed the cure when it was announced were unanimous that it would work." Hirsch leaned against the door. "Schizophrenia has a lot of biochemical markers, and is pretty much completely organic in origin. The treatment was somewhat new at the time, but it's been over twenty years and there hasn't been any known cases of reversion."

"Yeah, but- I'm surprised they let him become a cop."

"The treatment was about ten years old at that time, and pretty well established. Not to say he hasn't dealt with a lot of talk behind his back." Hirsch glanced at his watch. "I need to get going."

He looked surprised when the two mammals followed him. "What kind of talk?" asked Nick.

"Oh, I think you can guess. I sometimes think that he acts so goofy because people expected him to. That if they were going to think he was crazy, he might as well act crazy."

Nick nodded. "I can see that," he said. Judy shot him a look.

"Still, despite what Koroliy thinks, he's actually a pretty good cop, if kind of a jerk," continued Hirsch. He stopped near the front desk. "Hold my calls, Clawhauser, I'm making a coffee run."

The cheetah grinned at him. "Nobody ever wants to call you, Greg."

"It's Gregory," said Hirsch, though he grinned.

"And it's cream and two sugars," said Clawhauser. "Plus donuts."

"You got it." Hirsch walked outside. "Where was I?"

"How has Hunter avoided, I don't know, getting into trouble?"

Hirsch glanced down at Judy. "Oh, he's gotten into trouble. It's just that he seems to have a knack for doing something spectacular afterward- not to mention he sticks to the letter of regulations."

"Spectacular?"

"Yeah, like the serial killer thing." Hirsch stopped. "You guys haven't heard this story?"

Judy shook her head. "It mentioned it in the briefing we got when he first came here, but only, well, briefly."

"You know," observed Nick, "That briefing didn't really prepare me for him."

Hirsch snorted. "Well, no, we're not really going to say, 'By the way, this guy has a knack for testing regulations to destruction,' now are we? Well, the thing was that this serial killer was dumping bodies in Hunter's beat. Nasty piece of work, this guy- the medical examiner determined he was vivisecting his victims."

"Vivi-what?" asked Judy.

"Dissecting them while they were still alive." All three cops shuddered. "The bodies kept showing up in this lake on the edge of the city. We had dozens of cops, undercovers and even cameras set up all around the lake, but couldn't catch them. Hunter one day realizes that an old storm drain from a bombed-out neighborhood- caught a kinetic strike in the Third Drexian War- ran into the lake. He couldn't get anyone to listen to him- because he's a prick- and so he staked it out himself.

"Sure enough, he catches a guy dropping a corpse into the storm drain. Hunter doesn't snatch him, but follows him, and finds the killer- the guy actually dumping the corpses was just paid labor."

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "What happened to him?"

"The serial killer? Executed a couple years ago. Hunter really hated the guy- said he wanted to watch them pull the lever when they hanged him." Hirsch turned to start walking again, then turned back. "Look, I don't know what happened with Hunter, but he has let the job get to him before. Maybe that's all it is. He's never really had any close friends, and you can't do this job alone for as long as he has without it getting to you." With a wave, the FLPD officer walked off.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wolferd glanced at his partner. Tavi sat, slumped in the passenger seat, looking ridiculously tiny in the wolf-sized patrol car. She stared out the window listlessly.

"Cheer up, rookie," said Wolferd. "It's almost lunchtime."

She smiled weakly at him. "Sorry."

"You worried about Hunter?" asked Wolferd.

"Yeah, but-" she looked at the older cop. "Am I too small?"

Wolferd frowned at her. "For what?" Then he paused. "Um, well, I don't think Hunter's really likely to get into a relationship-"

"Why does everyone think that?" said Tavi acerbically. "He's, like, ten times my size!"

"Well, you do follow him around like a newborn puppy-"

"He's my trainer, that's my job! Look, I meant- am I too small to be a cop?"

The wolf started to say something flippant, but reconsidered when he saw the look in her eye. "Hopps is only slightly larger than you, and she does fine."

"Yeah, but- when Hunter was fighting with that guy in the tourist zone, I tried to help and- humans aren't even that big compared to some mammals! And I was worse than useless." Her voice sank at the last words.

Wolferd was not very good with mammals, at least not unless they were on the wrong end of a citation book. And probably not even then. He tried to think of something to say. "Well, maybe you just need to rework your fighting style. Be more mobile. You know, dance like a butterfly, sting like a-" at this point his somewhat limited imagination gave out. "A butterfly with a stinger. A really scary butterfly."

Tavi sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

Wolferd was both worried and, it must be admitted, somewhat relieved when his partner lapsed into silence.

 _*This is a sort of an English-speaking cultural thing- comes from an old nursery rhyme:_

 _"Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?_

 _Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full."_

 _Just wanted to explain it for anyone who may not get the reference._

 _Author's Note:_

 _So I will be posting gradually through the week, but the usual caveat applies- the work week will slow me down a bit._

 _For the reviewer who posted that Tavi and Hunter would make a cute couple- thanks! That you're shipping my characters means they're growing on you. It won't happen in this fic though._

 _Hunter (as I visualize him) sees Tavi (who, bear in mind, is less than half his age) as more like a daughter, or maybe little sister. Also, he's professional in certain ways, and a romance with his rookie is a big no-no (power imbalance thing, there). Oh, and she's a mongoose._

 _Joking aside, human/non-human romance won't be happening- nothing against it (though I poke fun at it a bit) if it's your thing, just not for me. Though you are more than welcome to write using my own characters if you want to explore that idea- I take that as a compliment, too._

 _I didn't really intend to make this as original character-centric as it's become- I originally made Hunter a human to get some good jokes going, then had to build a universe that accomodated (as best I could) canon Zootopia and humans, then that led to me thinking of interesting plot-lines involving human/sapient mammal technology and history, and now here we are in some sort of crazy space opera-esque setting. All I can say is that I hope my writing is making it enjoyable, even though I've moved away from the original setting a fair amount. I might later try to write some fics more focused on Nick and Judy, particularly if I decide to try and work on my romance-writing skills (which I need to do). Hunter is amazingly fun to write, though. And I have tried to stick to the themes and motifs the movie used, which you may note in this very chapter._

 _The plot will continue to thicken. Hope you enjoy!_


	10. Chapter 10

As "community care" homes went, the small house Nick and Judy approached wasn't bad. It wasn't a palace, by any stretch, but the yard was well-kept, the house itself old but well-maintained, and the two residents they saw playing chess on the front porch seemed content.

They glanced up- a kangaroo and a bobcat- as the two cops approached. "Hey, it's the police," commented the bobcat.

"Well-spotted," replied the kangaroo without looking up from the board. "You realize the knight pieces in this game move two spaces straight and then one over, Earl? Because you just moved one straight ahead three spaces."

"Yeah. I figured that one is sober, so he can move in a full straight line."

The kangaroo shook his head. "You really need to stop anthropomorphizing the chess pieces, Earl. Remember the discussion we had about castling?"

"I was just saying that no king can pick up a castle and move it like that-"

"It's a _game_." The kangaroo finally looked up at Judy and Nick. "Can I help you?"

"We're investigating the disappearance of Randy Snarlden," said Judy. "Are you residents here?"

"I am," replied the kangaroo. He held out a paw which Judy shook politely. "I'm Tom. Gotta say, it's kind of strange to see the police actually taking an interest in a missing mammal who is, um, how would I put it-"

"Crazy," finished Earl. The others looked at him. "What? Randy's my brother. And he is kind of crazy."

"What sort of mental illness was he diagnosed with?" asked Judy.

"Learning disability, primarily, though some of the doctors said he likely suffered from some sort of bipolar disorder." Earl stood up from the table with the chess pieces on it. "But he's never really been completely irrational- so it doesn't make sense for him to just wander off like everyone seems to think he did."

"Was he compliant with medication?" asked Judy, her notebook out.

"Yeah, they're pretty good here about making sure we get our meds," said Tom. "And it's nice and quiet here. Not like some of the places I've been."

Nick and Judy nodded. Both had been to calls involving care homes which were run sloppily, even criminally. "Did he say anything that might make you think he was going to leave? Maybe talk about meeting a friend, or anything like that?"

Both mammals shook their heads. "Randy generally keeps to himself," said Earl. "When he's not hanging around with me, he usually just likes to sit in the house and watch cartoons."

"And eat," added Tom.

"Eat and watch cartoons," amended Earl. "Come to think of it, he's generally eating when he is with me, too."

"Does he go out at all?" asked Judy.

"Sometimes he goes to the Bug Burger down the street," said Tom. "He says the food here is boring."

"Could he have gone there when he went missing?"

"Maybe," said Tom doubtfully. "He disappeared at night though, and he's scared of the dark."

"A bobcat that's scared of the dark?" said Nick, surprised. "I thought bobcats were nocturnal."

Both mammals shrugged. "Did I mention my brother is a little off?" said Earl. "He would never go outside alone at night."

Judy and Nick shared a glance. "Do you happen to have a good photograph of him?" asked Judy. "We might as well go ask around."

"Sure- there's one in his room." They followed Earl inside. Once again, they noted that the place was clean and well-kept, though perhaps a bit cluttered. Earl led them down a hall, waving at a lion who was lying on his back in a bed. The bobcat went to a dresser next to the other bed in the room and began digging through the drawers.

Judy looked around, then stopped to look closer at a waste bin near the room's one small desk. "He disappeared Tuesday night?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning."

Judy started digging through the trash. Nick watched her, bemused. "Carrots, what are you-"

She handed back a few papers she had collected. "Look at these."

The fox took them, read them, looked up at her. "Bug Burger receipts."

"Like I said," Earl put in. "He liked to go there occasionally."

Nick read them over. "That one's from last Thursday, this one from the Wednesday before- here's one for Saturday." Judy handed him another. "Okay, Friday."

"One per day," said Judy. She shook her head. "No more that I can see."

Earl frowned. "Weird. He didn't really have the money to go that often."

"Why would he have stopped on Saturday?" wondered Nick. "I mean, he goes once per day for a week, then just stops?"

Judy straightened, dusting off her knees. "How often do you clean out your pockets, Nick?"

He thought about it. "So you think he just hasn't thrown away the most recent receipts?" Nick nodded. "Makes sense. So he was going once a day."

Judy turned back to Earl. "You have that photograph?"

The bobcat started to hand it to her, then paused to look at it again. His face softened. The two cops looked at it too, seeing Earl with his arm around a fat, grinning bobcat in front of a birthday cake. Both brothers smiled cheerfully at the camera.

Judy looked at Earl, the bobcat's saddened expression a marked contrast with his photograph. Reluctantly, Earl handed her the photograph. "I hope this helps, officer. But if you can, I'd like to get it back." He hesitated. "If you don't find him- he was so happy when we sprung that surprise birthday party on him." He wiped away a tear. "I'll need something to remember him by."

Judy took the photo silently. She glanced at Nick, who was wearing the poker face he put on when he was having trouble controlling his emotions. "I'll do everything I can to find him, Earl," Judy said quietly.

For a moment, the bobcat looked away, his face working as he composed himself. "Thanks, officer." He met Judy's eyes. "It means a lot, just to know someone cares."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Shoplifting calls were generally pretty easy, Tavi had found. Most of the information was readily available, the store manager had been through the process many times before and was ready, and the actual elements of the crime were simple.

She wondered if Wolferd got some sort of weird kick out of making it difficult.

"So you think the suspect was stealing?" he asked the manager.

The manager looked at him oddly. "He stuffed two pre-packaged meals down the front of his pants and walked out of the store."

"Maybe he forgot they were there."

"They were _frozen_ meals, officer."

Wolferd tapped his pen against his notebook thoughtfully. "Could he have been trying to warm them up?"

"Remind me never to accept a dinner invitation at your house," said the manager dryly.

"Can we just get the information for the report and go?" asked Tavi in exasperation. "You spend more time arguing with mammals than it would take to just do the report."

"Just being thorough, rookie. It's important. Now," he said, addressing the manager, "are you positive that he didn't come into the store with the frozen meals?"

The manager stared at him, then looked at Tavi who shrugged ruefully. "You know what? They weren't all that expensive. Don't worry about the report."

"Okay," replied Wolferd cheerfully. "Have a nice day!"

Wolferd and Tavi walked out of the store, leaving the manager muttering darkly to himself. "You know, that's not really good for community relations," said Tavi.

"Who are you, the mayor?" Wolferd looked at his watch. "Great, we have time to go to lunch. It's going to be a good day after all."

A human walked around the street corner and saw them. Tavi noted his shirt was half-untucked, one shoe was missing, and the tie he wore had come almost completely loose. The human stared at the two officers and then approached.

"You're cops?" asked the human.

Wolferd looked at him, unfazed by the man's sudden appearance and disheveled attire. "That's what it says on the badge."

The man squinted at his badge. "Actually, it says 1422."

"Figure of speech. What's going on?"

The man squinted at them. "Space aliens?"

Tavi blinked. "What?"

"There's space aliens landing in the park."

Wolferd's jaw dropped and he stared at the man. "Really? How many?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, come on, this is the one person reporting something to you that you believe today?" said Tavi sarcastically.

Wolferd looked down at her. "Well, space aliens do exist- I mean, the humans have fought wars with them-"

"But a shoplifter is just too crazy to swallow?"

"Look," shouted the human. "I just came from the park in Little Barking not ten minutes ago- ran the whole way here. They're landing now! They've got ray guns and said they want to cross-breed humans and mammals! They're led by a talking duck named Howard!"

Wolferd frowned at him, looked at Tavi. "Okay, yeah, he might be crazy."

"Well, yes."

"There's no way he could have made it from Little Barking to here in ten minutes on foot. Even in a car he would have to get through the traffic downtown-"

Tavi buried her face in her paws.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hello, welcome to Bug Burger, home of the Rhinoceros Beetle Burger! Guaranteed ninety-nine percent carapace free!" Despite the enthusiasm of her words, the weasel behind the counter kept the same bored expression on her face. "Can I take your order?"

Judy shuddered. "Absolutely not. Do you recognize this mammal?"

The weasel leaned forward to look at the picture. "No, never seen him before."

"He's not in any trouble," said Nick. "He's gone missing and we're trying to locate him. His brother Earl's worried."

The weasel hesitated. "Oh, wait. Yeah, I recognize him now- Randy."

Judy blinked at her sudden change in attitude. "When's the last time you saw him?"

"Well, he comes in here every week or so- wait, actually he's been in here a lot more recently. Hey, Stu."

Another worker turned around. "Yeah?"

"When was the last time Randy was in here."

Stu furrowed his brow, thinking. "Let's see...I worked the overnight on Tuesday and he came in around one or two o'clock."

"At night?" said Nick, surprised. "Earl told us he was afraid of the dark."

Stu chuckled. "Yeah, but as long as someone is with him he's fine."

Both cops' ears perked up. "Someone was with him?" asked Judy.

"Yeah, been in here a couple times with him," said Stu. "That's why we kind of thought he might have gotten himself in trouble."

"What do you mean?"

Stu looked nervously around and moved closer. He lowered his voice. "The mammal he was with is a real hard case in the neighborhood. Supposed to have been an enforcer for one of the gangs in the area. Now he's mostly freelance, from what I hear. He's even been flashing around one of those human things, a uh- what do you call them? The weapons that shoot a piece of metal?"

"A gun?"

The cook nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Bragging about having contacts with someone who got him one."

Nick leaned closer. "You got a name?"

Stu looked away. "Maybe I said too much already. Word gets around, I could get hurt."

The fox nodded. "I get that, but from what I hear, Randy seems like a pretty nice guy."

"Yeah," agreed Stu. "He's a sweetheart."

Judy held up the picture again, with an overjoyed Randy about to blow out the candles. "We'll keep your name out of it," she promised. "But this is about helping him."

Stu looked at the picture, let out a breath. "Okay. I don't know his real name, but he was with a tiger everyone calls Lucky. He likes to hang out at a predator bar on the corner of Mouston and Rose."

Nick frowned. "You're talking about Lucky that used to run with Two-tone Tommy's gang?"

Stu nodded. "You know him?"

"You could say that," said Nick, his tone worried. "I'd say thanks, Stu, but I don't remember ever meeting you."

"Yeah, I bet you've already forgotten my name."

"Whose name?" asked Judy. She looked at Nick. "Let's go."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As it turned out, the man was fairly cooperative, though confused by the two officers' actions. "Aren't you going to warn the city? They should be calling up the militia."

The ambulance crew who were restraining the human onto a gurney gave a questioning glance to Wolferd and Tavi. Wolferd shrugged at them. "Yeah, I don't know what that is either."

The human blinked. "A city is like a big town, where lots of people live-"

"Not what I was referring to, but thanks for trying." He looked at the medic. "So?"

"Same as the others," said the armadillo as he checked the man's blood pressure. "Rapid pulse, constricted pupils, but everything else is pretty normal."

"It's a talking duck!" shouted the man. "He is the destroyer of worlds!"

The armadillo frowned. "Normal from a physical standpoint, I mean."

"Wait, the others?" said Tavi. "What others?"

"This is the fifth human to go bonkers like this in a week," said the paramedic. "Starting to think it's something in the water."

"For all we know all humans do this occasionally," said Wolferd. "It would actually explain a lot about their history."

Tavi shook her head. "I really doubt that." She leaned closer to the man, who was mumbling quietly to himself. "Hey, what's that?" She pointed to a purple-bluish stain on the man's collar, just below his neck.

Wolferd leaned closer. "Dunno. Some sort of goo." He reached out a paw towards it.

"Don't touch it!" shouted Tavi.

"What?"

"Have they done tox screens on the humans who have had these, uh, episodes?" she asked the armadillo.

"Of course. Haven't found anything, though."

"What about for Night Howler?"

Her partner and the two paramedics stared at her. "Night Howler?" said Wolferd. "Why would they-"

Tavi pointed at the goo- making sure not to make contact. "Exactly. Why would they? Except that looks exactly like the Night Howler concentrate that was used in the Bellwether case." She had gotten the full story from Nick and Judy not long after she met them. "Maybe that's why they're acting irrational- not fully savage, but definitely insane."

Then she froze. "Oh, no."

"What?" demanded Wolferd. Tavi jumped down from the ambulance. "Tavi, what is it?"

She stopped. "When Hunter attacked that man yesterday, he had something on his neck." She pointed back at the strapped down human in the ambulance. "Some sort of bluish goo."

Wolferd turned back to stare at the human, then his ears perked up and he snapped around to see their patrol car scream off.

He watched Tavi drive away, then looked back at the paramedics. "So, do you think you two can give me a ride?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


	11. Chapter 11

"So how do we play this?" Judy asked Nick.

They were standing near their patrol car, parked discreetly a block or so away from the intersection of Mouston and Rose. The area was very much on the border of respectability- but still just on the wrong side of it. A few pedestrians walking by gave them askance glances, their eyes lingering on the uniforms and marked patrol car. "Well," said Nick, after looking around. "He's got a few traffic warrants, so the best bet is to arrest him and interview him at the station."

"He won't talk to us without arresting him?"

Nick shook his head. "Not Lucky. He's been down a few times, and he's got a reputation to consider. If we get him downtown, away from his comfort zone, he may talk. Out here, not so much."

"Okay," said Judy. "So how do we arrest him?"

"Good cop, bad cop?"

"What is it with you and good cop, bad cop? That tactic has been outdated for thirty years."

"I've always wanted to be the bad cop."

"Nick, we're probably a quarter his size. I don't think he'll be intimidated."

"Okay, so you think of something."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tavi's patrol car screamed down the road, the lights flashing.

"Out of the way, out of the way," she muttered as her cell phone rang. A driver saw her lights and slammed on the brakes, forcing Tavi to swerve. Finally, Clawhauser's voice came over the cell-phone.

"Hello?"

"Clawhauser!" said Tavi in relief. "I need the address to Hunter's house. I know it's somewhere in Savannah Square, but I don't know exactly where."

"Uh, Tavi, you know I can't give that information out without permission."

"It's an emergency!" She took a corner, her tires screeching as she whipped around the intersection.

"Well, um, maybe I should talk to Wolferd."

Tavi winced. "Uh, he's not here."

There was a pause. "It sounds like you're driving," said Clawhauser carefully.

"He's fine, I left him with the crazy guy."

"What?"

"-and an ambulance crew, I should have mentioned that part first. Look, Hunter may have been exposed to Night Howler. I need to check on him and make sure he's okay. Please give me the address? I'll take the heat for it later."

She could almost hear the cheetah's indecision. Finally, he spoke. "Okay, give me a second and I'll give it to you. I hope you know what you're doing, rookie."

"I hope I'm not too late," said the mongoose.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm telling you, the 'good cop, bad cop' thing is too far outdated! Everyone expects it now!"

Judy's voice carried over the rather muted noise in the bar as the two officers walked in. Everyone stared at them.

Nick rolled her eyes. "It was in the manual they taught us from at the academy."

"Is that the same manual that has the illustration of the officer using a rotary telephone? And has a chapter extolling the virtues of the new radio-equipped cars?"

The two cops seemed oblivious to the nervous stares of the bar's clientele. They walked further into the bar, both focused on one another. "Yeah, but police work is still police work." They walked towards the bar.

"Sure, but some things have changed."

The bartender exchanged puzzled looks with some of his patrons, and raised his voice to address the two quarrelling officers. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe if you spent more time actually trying to read the streets instead of reading _books_ ,' said Nick sarcastically, "you'd understand that the old tricks are old because they work."

"And maybe if you had been a bit more focused on reading books," returned Judy, her voice raising slightly, "you would have read one called the _Tax Code_."

Nick growled slightly and stuck out a leg, tripping Judy. She fell to the ground next to a booth, the one-eyed tiger occupying it gaping in surprise.

"Um, what's going on? Can I help you with something?" asked the bartender again, his voice slightly nervous. The mammals in the bar watched interestedly.

"Sure," said Nick, as Judy scrambled to her feet, glaring at him. "We're looking for Lucky."

Immediately, every eye in the bar moved away from the two cops. The bartender shrugged. "Don't know him."

"Oh?" said Judy, her voice innocent. She turned to look at the one-eyed tiger who was trying to look inconspicuous in the booth next to them. "Because he's sitting right there."

With a surprised yowl, the tiger leapt from the booth. Or tried to, until he fell flat on his face. Lucky looked back in shock, seeing the manacle connecting his ankle to the base of the table at the booth.

Judy looked down at him, looked at Nick. "Okay, I gotta admit, the 'pretend you tripped so you can manacle the crook to his table' trick worked pretty well," said Nick.

"It's not traditional, but it worked. Although we need to come up with a catchier name."

"What the hell is this?" growled the tiger.

Both cops looked down at him. "Oh, right," said Judy. "You're under arrest for traffic warrants. Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to cuff you to other things in the room?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tavi pulled the patrol car up in front of a small house. She wasn't sure what to expect from Hunter's house, but the small, white-siding one-story with the immaculate lawn wasn't quite it. It looked far too normal. Worriedly, she noted that his car was missing from the driveway.

She knocked at the door anyway. Not surprisingly, there was no answer.

"Okay," she said out loud. "I think this counts as exigent circumstances, so I can force entry."

Easier said than done. Larger mammals could have probably kicked in the door. That left windows.

Tavi picked up a rock and looked around nervously. She wasn't sure what the neighbors would think if they saw her throw a rock through the window- she was in uniform, and there was a marked patrol car nearby, but still. Cops don't usually smash windows with rocks to make entry.

Well, if they called police then she'd have back-up. She threw the rock through the window.

After glancing around again- no one seemed to have noticed the glass breaking, though perhaps she just didn't see them, she moved up and cleared away the shards of glass still on the pane with her baton. Then, she threw her jacket over the sill to provide some protection from the glass and slipped inside.

She found herself on a couch- now partially covered with broken glass- inside a living room. Tavi jumped down from the couch and looked around.

The room was clean, almost sterile- it looked almost like a model home, except for the comparative lack of furniture. Besides the couch, there was an end-table, a stand with an inexpensive flat-screen television on it, and a small bookshelf. It was vaguely surprising- Hunter was by no means a slob, but Tavi would not have pictured him in this sort of Spartan environment.

Which reminded her that if he was here, she should let him know. Surprising a police officer in his home was a quick way to get yourself killed. "Hunter!" she called, her voice surprising her with its faintness. She tried again, shouting more loudly. "Hunter! It's me, Tavi! Are you home?"

There was no answer. Tavi hesitantly walked further into the house.

The kitchen was similarly clean and sparsely appointed, with little more than a small kitchen table designed for no more than two mammals. The only thing that seemed extraneous was a large cabinet, which she quickly determined held various liquor, though leaning towards whiskey. She noted that most of them were only partially full.

She spotted some mail on the kitchen table. Telling herself that she was looking for clues (and not just being stereotypically inquisitive for a member of the weasel family) she glanced through it. She paused as she found one open envelope, the letter folded with it.

"Child support payment?" she read in disbelief. "Hunter has kids?"

She froze, half-expecting Hunter's dry voice to say something witty and vaguely threatening, but there were still no sounds other than her quiet footsteps.

She decided to check the bedrooms.

The first looked to be the master bedroom. Tavi noted Hunter's belt hanging on a hook apparently designed for that purpose, and a quick glance in his closet showed it to be roughly halfway divided between civilian clothes and uniforms, all neatly pressed and hanging up. Idly, she wondered whether Hunter deliberately rumpled his uniforms before coming to work. She wouldn't put it past him.

So far, other than the surprise of finding out Hunter apparently had children back on AlphaCen, there had been little of anything to indicate what was going on with her friend and mentor.

Until she reached the last bedroom.

She opened the door, expecting a guest bedroom- though, she considered, she wasn't aware of Hunter ever having anyone over to visit. Even when he went out with his friends from the station, he generally went to their homes or out to a restaurant or bar. So it wasn't a complete surprise when she realized the second bedroom had been converted to a study.

What shocked her was the complete difference between the study and the rest of the house. A desk with a computer was set up against one wall, a worn computer chair against it. On the other side of the room, a folding table was set up, with modelling supplies scattered across it. A half-finished model of what Tavi tentatively identified as a human starship lay on newspaper spread across the table. Paintbrushes and bottles of paint were neatly arranged in a wooden rack.

What caught her real attention, however, was not that Hunter apparently had a surprisingly geeky hobby. Tavi's eyes widened as she looked at a large bulletin board across one wall. On it were posted newspaper clippings, print-outs of articles and research papers, and photographs which mostly appeared to be from newspapers or on-line sources. Handwritten notes were dotted across the large board, which looked to her much like the ones used by investigators in large, complex cases.

She moved closer, seeing one article from a Zootopian newspaper entitled "Humans Send Scientific Exchange Team". There were several photographs of the members of the team- one was circled, and Tavi recognized the man that Hunter had punched and threatened. "Lucas Jaeger," she read.

She looked further. There were several articles about Jaeger, but she saw several printed out incident reports from ZPD. All missing mammals, she noted, including the ones Judy and Nick were investigating. Hunter had highlighted the locations and dates of the incidents, and a handwritten note tacked to one read, "All mentally ill- motive, vulnerability, vic. profile?"

A string tacked onto this note connected it to another article, this one a profile pulled from an Alpha Centauri publication that listed the curriculum vitae of scientists- in this case, Lucas Jaeger's. The profile listed Jaeger as a premier "biochemical neuropsychologist" which was something that made little sense to Tavi. It sounded as if someone had taken several specialties and mashed them together.

Then she spotted another article, tucked away almost in a corner.

"Serial Killer Executed" it read. She read the article, then looked at the mug shot of the serial killer- the one that Hunter had caught during his time on First Landing. The photograph was circled in red.

In large words underneath it, Hunter had written, still in red. "THIS ISN'T HIM."

Below that, there was another picture of Dr. Lucas Jaeger. In marker next to it, "HE'S HERE. HOW?"

Tavi swallowed and reached for her cell phone.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: So I had kind of an interesting day at work. Without going into too much detail, there was a problem, my solution was, um, innovative, and while it all worked out it's unclear if the higher-ups are going to commend me, discipline me, or possibly both. So there's a bit of stress, which is going to have an impact on my ability to be funny. So the updates may be a bit slower on this particular weekend than usual, as I'm having to work twice as hard to get into the proper mindframe for humor. Hopefully things will be cleared up by next week or so._

 _In the meantime hopefully this will resolve at least partially what's going on. I have a really awesome climax planned out for this arc, by the way, so something to look forward to._


	12. Chapter 12

Judy's cell phone rang as Nick led the angry tiger into the holding cell. She glanced at the number and answered. "Tavi?"

"Hopps." Tavi's voice was nervous, her breath coming in rapid pants. "I need you and Wilde to meet me at Hunter's house right away."

Judy frowned. "At Hunter's house? How did you- even Nick and I don't know where he lives exactly."

"I got the address from Clawhauser. Ugh, where do I start? So Wolferd and I found this guy, schizophrenic or something, and I noticed a bluish residue on his clothes-"

She continued, and Judy's frown deepened as Tavi mentioned the Night Howler. She glanced at Nick before interrupting the young officer. "Hey, Tavi, I'm going to put you on speaker so Nick can hear. Can you start over?"

When she finished, Nick and Judy shared a worried glance. "So you broke into Hunter's house?"

"I was worried about him!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Never worry about me, okay, Tavi? It sounds like it's tough on the windows."

"Will you two just get over here? You need to see what's in this room."

Judy sighed. "We really need to interrogate this suspect- we can't hold him for very long on traffic tickets."

Nick shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to let him stew a little while. We can run over and see what Tavi's got."

Judy considered it, then nodded. "All right. So what's the address?" she asked into the phone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick walked into the house, looking around in surprise. "Hunter lives here? I was expecting it to be more-"

"Slovenly?" asked Judy, frowning at the living room.

"Wacky."

Tavi poked her head from the hallway, her eyes wide with relief. "There you are! Come on."

Nick and Judy followed her into the bedroom/study, and blinked when they looked around the room. Judy stared at the massive bulletin board. "Wow."

"Yeah," said Nick.

She looked closer. "I can't believe it!"

"Me neither," said Nick. "Hunter builds model spaceships for fun?"

Both other cops looked at him.

He looked at them, looked at the bulletin board. "Oh, and he has a bulletin board full of crazy. Come on, that can't be that surprising to you."

"It's not crazy," said Judy, shaking her head. "Look." She pointed to several of the missing animals, along with the notation reading _All mentally ill- connection or coinc.?_ "Some of these are our cases. And they do all seem like they could be connected."

"But he's not sure if there's a connection based on their mental illness or if it's just coincidence," said Tavi. "But what about this?" She pointed to the picture of the serial killer, marked _THIS ISN'T HIM._ "Who isn't him?"

The two other mammals studied it for a moment, before both shook their heads. "I don't know. The serial killer that was executed wasn't the right person, maybe?"

"Wrongful arrest?" said Nick doubtfully. "I thought they said Hunter caught him in the-" he stopped. He read further. "The serial killer's name was Klaus Lucas. Klaus Lucas- Lucas Jaeger. Is he getting- getting mixed up or something-"

All three stared at the wall.

"We need to find him," said Tavi firmly. "He needs help."

As she finished saying the words, there was a crash from the living room.

A voice bellowed "ZPD! We have a warrant!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo stared at the three cops in his office. "So let me get this straight," he said, after a moment. "Officer Tavi?"

She was already standing at attention, but now she straightened until she visibly quivered. "Sir!"

"You abandoned your partner and drove to Hunter's place, where you broke into his home through a window."

"Sir!" Her eyes were wide, the whites showing.

"What were you thinking, exactly?"

"Sir!"

"Officer Tavi, that was a question."

"Sir!"

Wilde cautiously raised a paw. "I think you might have broke her, chief."

"Sir!"

Bogo eyed her, then looked at the fox. "Speaking of breaking things, Wilde, why did you break out a window and try to flee the warrant squad?"

"Force of habit?" said Nick, immediately wincing as he regretted the words.

"I'm going to pretend you said 'because I didn't realize who had just broken down the front door and panicked', so I don't have to discipline you." said Bogo dryly. "I think being hit with a stun gun repeatedly was punishment enough."

"Sir!" squeaked Tavi. All three of the other cops in the room looked at her worriedly.

"Wilde, go take officer Tavi to get a drink of water," ordered Bogo.

"Yes, sir!" Wilde snapped to attention then gently led the still quivering Tavi out of the room. Bogo watched them go. His gaze returned to Judy.

"I suspect you're wondering why we were running a search warrant on Hunter's home."

The rabbit nodded. "Yes, sir."

Bogo reached under his desk and put a box on the desk with a loud thump. Judy recognized it. "That's the gun case for Hunter's sidearm."

"Yes. The one where his weapon was supposed to be stored." Bogo opened the box as Judy frowned at the words "supposed to be". She peered inside, seeing what she had expected- Hunter's gun. She looked a question at the chief.

Bogo picked up the gun and tossed it to her. She instinctively caught it, though fully expecting the heavy firearm to knock her to the ground- not to mention the danger inherent in throwing a weapon in the first place-

It was- hollow?

More than that, it was plastic. And light. And-

"This isn't real," she said in shock.

The water buffalo nodded. "A remarkably good _model_ of one, though. And, as we've learned, Hunter was apparently remarkably good at models." He paused. "Which still seems weird. Anyway, officer Koroliy was conducting a routine inspection and realized as soon as she picked it up that it was fake."

"So- the real one-"

"Is presumably in Hunter's hands," said Bogo grimly. "And not only is that illegal, but he's shown an irrational hatred of this Dr. Jaeger human."

"Hunter wouldn't-"

"What about officer Tavi's theory?" asked Bogo. "That Hunter was exposed to Night Howler? The humans that went crazy have all tested positive for a form of Night Howler- though apparently it doesn't make them as vicious as it has for other mammals, it certainly seems to cause some form of paranoid psychosis. If Hunter was exposed- he could be a danger to anyone, Hopps."

"Not to us," said Hopps firmly.

Bogo cocked his head. "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, holding his gaze.

"What about officer Wilde's?"

There was a long silence.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay, just breathe, Tavi." Nick watched the young mongoose carefully. "That's not breathing. That's more like squeaking."

She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths. "I didn't know water buffaloes could loom like that."

"Eh, he's not so bad. His bark is worse than his bite," said Nick, with more nonchalance than he felt.

The rookie's eyes widened again. "He bites?"

"Figure of speech, Tavi."

"Right."

The door to Bogo's office opened and Judy joined them in the hallway. Both of them looked at her. Nick noticed her downcast expression and lowered ears with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Hunter stole his gun from the armory," she said in a low tone. "He's got a warrant for felony firearm possession out on him."

Nick stared at her. "How?"

"Replaced the real one with a fake gun," she said, her tone still flat and dispirited. "Made from modelling supplies."

The fox looked impressed. "That's actually pretty clever."

He caught Judy's look and he coughed. "I mean, stupid. Really, really stupid."

"He must be afraid of something," said Tavi. "He must think someone's after him."

"Or he's after someone," said Judy.

Tavi whipped around to stare at her. Slowly, her eyes widened. "You think he might- he's our friend."

"He's stolen a gun, Tavi," argued Judy. "He's got some sort of- of obsession with this Jaeger human. And he's been violent towards the guy before. They've put an _arrest warrant_ out on him, Tavi!"

For a long moment, Tavi just glared at her. Then, the mongoose turned and walked away.

Nick watched her go, then looked at Judy, who was avoiding his eyes. "So what's the plan?"

She turned away. "We've got a tiger to interrogate."

He stood still for a moment, stunned, as she started to walk down the hallway. He hurried to catch up with her. "That's it?"

"That's our job," said Judy.

"What about Hunter?"

"What are we going to do, Nick? Our best hope now is that he has been affected by Night Howler, because that will give him a defense in court."

"Our best hope is that he's crazy?"

She let out a breath. "Yeah. And that he gets caught, soon, before he does something he can't make right."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ruth Barker, ZPD, stood in the living area of a spacious hotel room. Mentally, she estimated the cost of the room, the service, and the meal the occupant was eating and compared it- unfavorably- to her monthly salary. "Dr. Jaeger, thank you for seeing me."

"Not at all," the human said. "I do apologize for speaking with you while I'm eating, but I've so little time I need to eat when I can. Would you like me to order something? All paid for by the government, so it's basically free. It's amazing how useful having an interstellar government supporting you can be."

Barker shook her head. "No, thank you. Dr. Jaeger, I have some news about the officer who accosted you a few days ago."

"Ah, yes. I hope you haven't fired him. I suspect he had me confused with someone else- indeed, I would not be surprised if there were some sort of mental disorder at work there. Perhaps a sort of prosopagnosia-"

"We think your life might be in danger," interrupted Barker.

The doctor stopped in mid-flow, stared at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"Officer Hunter has gone missing. There are signs that he may be dangerously obsessed with you, and it appears he has stolen a firearm from the police armory."

Jaeger cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh, my."

The ZPD officer frowned, but continued. "We would like to offer a protective detail, which would be comprised of-"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," said Dr. Jaeger.

She blinked. "Sir, I assure you, Hunter has the capability and means to be a significant threat."

"Nonsense. The man could have easily killed me the other day," said Jaeger, waving a hand negligently. "And to be frank, officer, a number of the meetings with your government are- shall we say sensitive? They touch on some rather hot-button topics. With all due respect to you and your colleagues, having police officers around would constitute a major security risk."

"Doctor-"

"No, officer," said Jaeger firmly. "Leave Hunter to me. If I see him, I'll make certain he gets the help he so desperately needs."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy and Nick looked through the interrogation room window.

"So why do they call him Lucky?" asked Judy, as she looked at the bored tiger sitting in the near-featureless room.

"Well, he's missing an eye and part of his tail from a couple of accidents he was in," said Nick. He rolled his eyes at Judy's incomprehension. "It's a joke, Carrots. What we call irony."

"Oh." She thought about that, then looked at Nick again. "Did you have a street nickname?"

His ears laid back. "Um, no."

"Really?" Her tone was suspicious.

"Okay, so he's cocky," said Nick, changing the subject. "We need to break him down, first."

Judy decided to let it go. "We don't have much. We can't even really mention our witness."

"So we bluff him."

"With what? We don't have any cards."

"That's why they call it a bluff, Fluff," said Nick, waggling his eyebrows.

She smiled at him. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

"That's my girl."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lucky looked up sharply as they entered the room, their faces carefully blank. "What's all this about?" He suddenly peered at Nick. "Cub Scout? What are you doing- oh, don't tell me it's true. I can't believe I didn't recognize you."

"Cub Scout?" asked Judy curiously.

Nick smoothly sat down, only the twitching of his ears betraying his discomfort. "Not here to talk about the past, Lucky."

"I heard you joined the dark side, Cubbie," the tiger said, leaning back disdainfully. "Not only went straight, but actually signed up with the law. Heard you had a new bunny girlfriend, too." He looked Judy up and down. "Didn't your momma ever tell you not to play with your food?"

"Didn't your momma ever tell you not to let a bunny rabbit fool you into letting her manacle your leg to a bar table?" asked Judy.

Lucky blinked. "That seems like an awfully specific thing for my mother to warn me about."

"Oh, I don't know," said Nick. "My mother used to tell me not to ever let a fennec fox con me into buying the Little Rodentia Railroad Bridge." He frowned. "Again."

Judy gave him an aside glance, but decided to let it go. "So, Lucky, do you recognize this mammal?" She pushed the photograph of Randy Snarlden towards Lucky, folded so only he was visible.

Lucky didn't even look at the picture. "Nope, never seen him."

"That's funny, because you used to go to a Bug Burger in your neighborhood on almost a nightly basis. We have receipts for the place."

The tiger looked at him narrowly, then glanced at the photograph. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"You're sure?"

The tiger stood up. "I'm sure. And I'm also sure that if you're going to keep yapping, I want a lawyer. That sure enough for you?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Damn," muttered Nick after the tiger was led away.

"It's sort of confirmation," said Judy. "I mean, not legally, but lawyering up that quickly-"

"Oh, I think we both know he has something to do with it."

Judy sighed. "A dead end."

"Not entirely," said Nick. "There's one other mammal that might know something."

"Who?"

"He reminded me of it during the conversation," said Nick. "Someone who will always have some idea of what Lucky is up to."

"Nick! Who?"

The fox looked at her. "His mom."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: Quick note: I've been referring to what is commonly referred to as a "Taser" as a "stun gun" which isn't quite right (a stun gun generally refers to a hand-held device that administers an electric shock and requires contact- a "taser" fires two darts that, when striking a target conduct electricity through the target, thus hopefully locking up muscles and neutralizing the target). Technically the term is "conducted energy device", but I figured most people don't know that, so stun gun will have to do. "Taser" is actually a brand name and an acronym- it stands for **T** homas **A. S** wift's **E** lectric **R** ifle, because of the old "Tom Swift" series which had a similar weapon in it. So it didn't seem appropriate to call it that for a story set thousands of years in the future._


	13. Chapter 13

Judy and Nick walked into the ZPD station the next morning, eyes somewhat baggy from lack of sleep. Clawhauser glanced up from the front desk at them. "Hey, guys, are you two okay?"

"Lot of work recently," said Nick casually. "Anything new?"

"Well, Hirsch is kind of annoyed because you missed the meeting with the Highfall Armory rep yesterday," the cheetah replied.

Judy grimaced. "I knew I was forgetting something."

"Don't worry, the Highfall guy said he could re-schedule. Meet with Hirsch after roll call." The cheetah grinned, but then sobered. "Oh, and there's Tavi."

"What about her?" asked Nick.

"She turned in her badge."

"She what?" Judy and Nick both stared in shock.

Clawhauser shrugged helplessly. "She's taken what happened with Hunter pretty hard. Says she doesn't want to have to, well, you know."

"Arrest him?"

"Yeah."

Nick looked at Judy. She avoided his gaze. "She probably just needs time to think it over," said Nick.

Judy still wouldn't look at him. "Let's go to roll call."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hi!" said the Highfall Armory representative cheerfully. "You must be Judy Hopps!"

The fox looked at him quizzically. "No, I'm Nick Wilde."

"Oh! Sorry, I can't really tell what- never mind." He turned to look at Judy. "Hi! You must be Judy Hopps!"

Judy gave him a cool look. "That's me," she agreed, extending a paw.

"Glad to meet you! My name's William Seymour, but you can call me Bill." He enthusiastically shook her paw. "Welcome to our product demo." His voice took on a resonant tone. "Highfall Armory! Killing people and breaking things since M28.845!"

Both Nick and Judy stared. "That's seriously your motto?" asked Judy incredulously.

"Hey, there's a lot of dangerous things out there in the black, and Highfall Armory is dedicated to putting holes in them." He waved them forward. "Come on into the range."

The range had been used for training with stun guns and tranquilizer darts, but had been extensively upgraded to accomodate the more powerful weapons that had been introduced after human contact. A series of booths accessed from one side allowed shooters to fire downrange at targets that could be set to pop up and even move forward and back to allow for shooting at shorter or longer range.

Hirsch stood near one of the booths, examining a magazine that Judy recognized as fitting her custom-made firearm. Koroliy stood near him, reading what looked like a technical brochure. Hirsch looked up skeptically as Seymour approached. "You're sure about this, Mr. Seymour?"

"Extensively tested," the Highfall rep assured him. "This was a brilliant piece of engineering, officer Hirsch. The R&D team that came up with it did some amazing work. I hear the CEO personally signed a memo saying they could wear jeans on Fridays." He paused. "Subject to supervisory discretion, of course. We're not barbarians."

He didn't seem to notice as the police officers all exchanged confused looks, moving instead to the firing booth. "Okay, so this is basically your weapon, officer Hopps." Seymour raised a pistol, keeping the barrel pointing downrange. "I mean, it's actually not- it's sized for a human- but it's got the same ballistics, barrel, and so on. Let's set the target at, say, three meters- close range."

He nodded to the control center behind them, and a bored-looking technician obediently moved the target silhouette- a human, as there was some debate on what mammal's silhouette should be used- to the requested distance. "This is with your current ammunition. Note that I've put some ballistic gelatin to simulate a mammalian body behind the paper so we can see the penetration."

He glanced around to ensure everyone had put on their earmuffs and safety goggles. Hirsch double-checked, then nodded. "You're clear to fire, Seymour."

Seymour carefully sighted at the target- though it was so close it would have been difficult to miss- then fired a series of rounds. Judy watched the target. Neat holes appeared, but it was clear the rounds weren't penetrating the ballistic gel behind the target. After clearing his weapon, Seymour had the target brought forward. "As you can see, we couldn't really get the acceleration high enough while maintaining the recoil requirements for a smaller mammal." He pulled the paper back. "This would severely bruise, even potentially kill someone if it hit the wrong place, but is essentially the equivalent of a bean-bag round. It is lethal at longer ranges, but we were told most police shootings happen at comparatively close range."

He let the paper fall back into place. "Three meters again!" he called to the control room technician.

"So we experimented with different fuels for the rocket in the rounds, but everything we tried was, well, too powerful. Then someone looked at it from a different angle." He picked up one of the new magazines. "Highfall Armory: Killing is our business, and business is good."

Even Hirsch and Koroliy winced at that one. The rep continued. "So these use much the same propellant as the original rounds, but instead of putting in a simple copper-jacketed bullet, we designed a tiny warhead. It's essentially a miniature shaped charge, like the ones used in anti-tank weaponry."

"It's what now?" asked Judy anxiously.

"Make sure your ear and eye protection is on," said Seymour cheerfully. He raised the gun. "Range is three meters, same as before."

"You said anti-tank-"

This time, the crack of the weapon was much louder. And the effects-

Were spectacular.

The target essentially disintegrated, ballistic gelatin and paper from the target silhoutte flying everywhere. Seymour continued firing, even as the bottom half of the ballistic gelatin dummy fell to the floor, cut in half by the sustained detonations of the shells. Finally, the gun clicked empty.

The remainder of the dummy fell off the stand, the target paper on fire at several points. The Highfall Armory rep frowned at that. "It almost never catches fire like that. But anyway, I think this will be precisely suited to your needs." He turned to face the police officers.

Koroliy's jaw was agape. Hirsch couldn't seem to take his eyes off the smouldering target. Judy and Nick both looked utterly horrified.

Seymour frowned. "What?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I am not using those things," said Judy angrily.

"You may have to, unless they come up with something better," said Nick.

They were loading their patrol car in the station's garage. Judy held a magazine with the new, high-explosive rounds gingerly, the case for her carbine open in the trunk. "I can't imagine doing that to another mammal."

Nick shrugged uncomfortably. "It's better than them doing it to you, Carrots."

She looked at him, then back at the magazine. "I'm not so sure."

He closed his own gun case and turned to face her. "Carrots, listen. If someone tries to hurt you, I want you to hurt them first and harder." She still didn't look at him. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Judy, listen.

"You know there's bad mammals out there, and it's our job to deal with them. I don't like that Highfall Armory guy's attitude any more than you do, but if your life is on the line then I'll use every tool I've got to keep you safe."

"But-"

"It's a nasty weapon, Carrots, I know. But right now, it's the best way to keep you safe."

For a long moment, she stared at the magazine. She looked up at him again. "I'll carry them."

He nodded. "Thanks."

"But not just for me, Nick." She put the magazine in the case with the others and closed it decisively. "For you, too. Because the same goes for me- if someone tries to hurt you, I'm going to stop them."

He smiled. "I can take care of myself, Carrots."

"Which one of us got himself shot, again?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Come on, we've got to go talk to Lucky's mom."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick knocked at Mrs. Catsleton's door. "Look, I'm just saying that if we're going to live together, I think calling you my girlfriend is legitimate."

The argument had started when they had been discussing their abbreviated interview with Lucky. Specifically, when Judy had made an annoyed comment about his use of that word.

"It's just that I don't know why we need to insist on putting labels on everything," countered Judy. "You know how I feel, and I know how you feel, so why do we have to make it official?"

He squinted at her. "Um, because that's what mammals do? Does it make you feel like your car is less 'real' because you call it a car instead of leaving the exact classification all nebulous?"

"Are you really comparing our relationship to a car?"

"Are you really saying that you want to keep it undefined? What if I were to propose? Would you be upset about me trying to 'define the relationship'?"

There was a sudden silence. Nick's ears slowly flattened against the back of his head.

"Um," said Judy.

"I'm not saying right now, I'm just saying if, in the future-"

Judy turned to face the door. "Maybe this isn't the best time to have this conversation." She knocked again. "Are we sure this is the right house?"

Nick's ears flicked in relief. "Well-"

The door opened and an older female tiger wearing a cotton dress and apron looked down at the two police officers. She took in their uniforms and badges and sighed. "Oh, what _has_ that boy done now?"

Nick looked at Judy. "Yeah, I think this is the right place."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Peter used to be such a good boy," said Mrs. Catsleton as she walked them into the small living room.

"Really? Because I knew him when he we were both in school, and even then-" Nick cut off as Judy stepped on his foot.

"Yes, ma'am, we're just a bit worried that he got involved in something dangerous. Has he spoken to you much in the past few weeks?"

"Yes, he always calls me unless he's in jail or in the hospital." She sighed. "Lately he's been talking about something big he's gotten himself involved in. Said he was making a lot of money at it." She looked at them curiously. "You know, I already told the other officer all about this."

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "What other officer?" asked Judy cautiously.

"The one that arrived just before you. He's still in the kitchen, I assume. Oh, that reminds me, I should make some more tea for you two."

Before she finished her sentence, both officers were running towards the kitchen. Inside, they froze.

Hunter looked up from the table, sipping a cup of tea.

They stared at him.

Deliberately, he put down the tea cup. "Well," he said. "This is awkward."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hunter." Judy moved slightly to one side in the kitchen, putting some distance between her and Nick while keeping the human in sight.

He was dressed casually, jeans, t-shirt, and an untucked button-down shirt. She scanned him, looking for any signs of a hidden firearm. If he had one, the shirt was covering it.

Nick was still gaping. "Zach? Where did you come from?"

Hunter cocked his head. "You know, I asked Lucas that very same question when I saw him. You know what he said?"

Nick shook his head.

"He said, 'From walking up and down in the earth, and going to and fro in it.' Sounded like a quote, so I checked it out- comes from an ancient religious text, the Book of Job in the Bible."

Judy kept her eyes on him, watching his hands. "Is that important right now?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Maybe not. But if what you meant is what am I doing here, it's the same thing you are. Investigating."

"What did you find out?" asked Nick.

"That your friend Lucky was a very bad boy. He's mixed up in something big, Nick, something that will probably get him killed." Hunter stood and Judy stepped back. He glanced at her and continued. "You two- and Tavi- were at my house."

"How did you-"

"I got home just after Tavi went in. I saw the broken window and waited outside, trying to decide what to do, when you two showed up. And a warrant team not long after that. What's the charge, by the way?"

"Unlawful possession of a firearm," said Judy.

His eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Your gun's gone missing from the armory, Hunter."

He thought for a moment. "Well, looks like I did learn something useful today."

"Hunter, listen, you may have been exposed to Night Howler. It's been used on several humans recently- you may not be, um..."

"In my right mind?" He shook his head. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but Jaeger is not who he says he is."

"Then who is he?" asked Nick.

"His real name is Klaus Lucas. He's a serial killer."

Nick glanced at Judy, who hadn't taken her eyes off of Hunter. "Zach, we saw the photograph on your bulletin board. They don't look anything alike."

"I caught the guy with the still-living remnants of one of his victims, Nick," said Hunter levelly. "I remember his face. Those media photos are forged."

"Come on, Zach! That would require a massive cover-up, a huge effort to-"

"Well, that part not so much. I don't know as much about Terra, but on AlphaCen most news outlets tend to more or less copy and paste from others." Hunter shrugged. "Fiddle with the source and they tend to all print the same thing. Now, faking his execution and setting him up with false ID- yeah, that's big."

"Hunter, if all this is true, you need to come with us. We can sort this out-"

He cut Judy off with a look. "Judy, first of all, you two do not need to be involved in this. It's too dangerous. Second, quite frankly I'm having a lot of trouble trusting anyone right now."

"We're your friends, Hunter, you can trust us-"

"Can I?" He pointed at Judy. "You walked in, saw me, and immediately moved to separate from Nick, so I can only fully face one of you at a time. You bladed your body and put your weight on your back foot so you can pivot rapidly to avoid a charge or launch your own attack. You've been watching my hands the entire time. All good, solid tactics for facing down a potentially dangerous suspect." He spread his hands. "You don't trust me, Hopps. Why should I trust you?"

For a moment, she stared at him. Then her face hardened. "Hunter, you're under arrest."

Nick gaped at her. "Carrots-"

"You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you."

Hunter was shaking his head. "I can't let you arrest me, Judy."

"I'm not _asking_ you, Hunter."

"And what are you going to do about it, Hopps?" He suddenly shifted and even Nick moved back as his hand gripped one of the chairs. "I hate to break it to you, but I've been a cop in the nastiest area of a pretty screwed-up city for a long time. I outweigh both of you put together. Your guns are in the patrol car, since you can't exactly carry around a carbine all the time. So what's your move, bunny?"

She hesitated. Then her face took on a look of determination, and she stepped forward.

Hunter shifted and raised the chair off the ground.

Nick lunged at him, knocking him off balance as the fox struck his legs. Hunter staggered, the chair slamming to the floor, but his grip on it allowing him to keep his balance.

Judy leapt at him, but he dodged, pivoting around the chair as Nick tried to take hold of one of his arms. The rabbit landed on a countertop, scrambling away from the human.

Hunter had turned to Nick, though, and as Nick slapped a handcuff on his wrist he grabbed Nick by the scruff of the neck and shoved him, sending him sliding to the other side of the kitchen.

Hunter glanced at the handcuff on his wrist and then looked at Judy, who was standing on the counter. "Not bad," he said.

She drew her stunner. "Get on the ground, Hunter."

He nodded appreciatively. "Brought your stunner with you. You _are_ a sly bunny."

"I'm not telling you again-"

He threw himself backward, grabbing the refrigerator door and ducking behind it as it opened. Judy's darts buried themselves in the open door, sending sparks flying over the condiments inside.

"Never hesitate to take the shot, Hopps," yelled Hunter. She was already moving to get a clear shot at him, but even as she did he yanked the back door open and dashed outside. Judy looked at Nick as the door slammed shut. "Are you okay?"

He groaned as he sat up. "I never should try to fight larger mammals. I am getting way too old for this."

"Come on!" Judy ran to the door, grimaced as she realized Hunter had somehow jammed it shut. "Front door!"

By the time they ran outside, Hunter was gone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: A quick word about the Highfall Armory scene. First, nothing in this is intended to be a political statement, unless you count some of the issues of morality and philosophy that I bring up from time to time (though bear in mind that the views of my characters- even the protagonists- do not necessarily reflect my own). So I'm not taking a pro-gun or anti-gun stance anywhere in here. That said, I am deliberately parodying the over-the-top sales methods some (not all) gun manufacturers use in this scene._

 _The refrigerator door trick was used in_ Grosse Pointe Blank, _the John Cusack movie. One of my favorites, so I'm going to count it as a shout-out and not me being lazy._

 _Oh, and some readers may note the "M28.845" notation is the same used in the Warhammer 40k universe. This doesn't mean the series is set in the WH40k setting (although that would be interesting, to say the least)- it's just meant as a little shout-out._


	14. Chapter 14

"How did he get away?" asked McHorn, angrily. "I mean, you two couldn't control one lazy out-of-shape cop?"

"He's not that out of shape," said Nick, grimacing. "Trust me on that." He leaned back against McHorn's unmarked car and looked around.

Grim-faced officers in full SWAT gear moved purposefully along the street. Uniformed officers were making the rounds, knocking on doors to see if anyone had seen anything. Patrol cars and two different SWAT vans filled the streets with their lights flashing as a helicopter flew overhead. He glanced at a group of mammals near one of the SWAT command vehicles, where his partner stood. Judy looked over at him from where she was talking to another detective and Mrs. Catsleton, and then walked towards him and McHorn.

"You couldn't outrun him?" demanded McHorn. "I thought foxes were supposed to be fast." He gave Judy a disdainful look as she approached. "And bunnies, too."

"I was fast enough to catch Weaselton, McHorn," she retorted. "And we did try to place him under arrest. He resis-"

"He ran really fast," interrupted Nick. "And managed to jam that backdoor with something. You know humans tend to have more endurance than most mammals." That had been a surprise- a lot of mammals could move much faster than a human, but it was remarkable how long they could keep up a chase.

McHorn looked at them suspiciously. "If I find out you two let him go out of some sense of misplaced loyalty-"

"You won't find that out," said Nick firmly.

Judy sighed as McHorn gave the fox an even more suspicious look. "I mean," said Nick, "because we didn't."

With a final glare, the rhino stumped off, shouting orders at a pair of SWAT cops.

Judy frowned at Nick. "You know we didn't actually 'let' him get away."

"Yeah."

"So how did you make the truth sound like you were lying?"

"Lack of skill."

"At lying? You?"

"At truth-telling." Nick shoved his paws in his pocket. "You know, that's just what I wanted today, to be lectured at about misplaced loyalty by a serial adulterer like McHorn."

"You really need to stop provoking him- or letting him provoke you, I guess." Judy moved up next to him, leaned against the car. "Are you okay? I still think we should get an ambulance to check you out."

"I'm fine. I don't think Hunter was trying to hurt us- he was just trying to get away."

"That's another thing. We need to tell everyone he resisted- it'll let them know that he's not going to come quietly-"

"And get him into more trouble, Carrots? You know, you could have heard him out instead of going all super-cop on him."

Judy turned to look at him, her eyes widening in surprise. "Nick, he has a warrant for his arrest! Not to mention the distinct possibility that he's not, um, completely sane."

The fox looked down at her. "Yeah, but we can't just dismiss him like that. Maybe he's onto something- that doctor human could be the serial killer he arrested."

"And the government faked his execution, set him up with a false identity and sent him to Zootopia? Why would they do that for some random psychopath?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time that we've uncovered a massive government conspiracy, now would it?" He held up three fingers. "It would be the _third_ , in fact."

"I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but- it doesn't make a lot of sense. And we could always keep Hunter safe in-"

"Jail?"

" _Protective custody_ while we sort it out. He can't be running around like some sort of vigilante investigating this case."

"Maybe he has a good reason, Carrots. I think he's earned a bit of trust by now."

"Yes, Nick, he's earned some trust. But enough to ignore the law on his behalf? Come on."

Nick frowned at her. "He was right, you know. I was a bit wary of him, but you out and out treated him like a dangerous suspect from the get-go."

She turned to face him herself. "Which he _was_. He threw you across the room!"

"Gently! I mean, he threw me in a gentle manner, like sort of a friendly- look, the point I'm making is that it seems like as soon as there's a few accusations thrown around, you just gave up on him."

She searched his eyes. "Nick, if you're worried that I don't trust you-"

His eyes widened. "No, Carrots, I think we've gotten past that. I know you love me-" and for once there was no hint of banter in his voice "-but after all we've been through with Hunter, and what we've seen of how he thinks and acts, do you really think you can just write him off because of, what? His past?"

"Because of what _he's doing right now_ , Nick. He hasn't exactly shown a lot of trust in us, either." Judy was a bit angry now. "He closed down on us, told us it was better not to know what he's doing, and has been running around this investigation- which is also our investigation, by the way- behind our backs. Does that really sound like the actions of a friend?"

Nick frowned, thought about it. "Well- he probably has his reasons."

"And I have mine. And you know what mine are, Nick, because I don't hide them from you and say you don't need to know." Judy shook her head. "I don't want to hurt him, Nick, but he needs to be stopped. For his own good, if nothing else."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tavi stepped nervously- though less nervously than the last few times- into the small, dingy lobby of the "Massage Parlor"- that was the name on the sign- in the small strip center. A slouched muskrat glanced up at her as she walked in. "Massage?" she said, somewhat skeptically.

Tavi looked around. "I'm, uh, here to meet with one of your clients."

"Our clients' information is confidential."

"He'll be expecting me. A human, dark-skinned, in his fifties. Probably really sarcastic. Can you just let him know I'm here?"

After a moment, the muskrat shrugged. "What name?"

"Tavi."

"Okay. I'll see if we have anyone like that here."

She got up and walked through a door behind the receptionist's desk. Stealthily, Tavi slipped in behind her, blessing her small size and naturally sneaky heritage. Without noticing her, the muskrat walked heavily down the hallway. Through the doors to either side, Tavi could hear- um, noises. This wasn't just a massage parlor, which was why she was here.

The muskrat moved all the way to one of the back rooms and knocked at the door. "Mr. Cassidy?"

Tavi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Hunter's voice. "Yes, Janet?"

"Someone here to see you. Name of Tavi."

There was a long silence. "Did you say-"

"It's me, Hunter."

The muskrat whipped around in shock, her eyes widening in outrage. "This is a private-"

The door swung open and Hunter looked down at his former partner. He was dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, a tie loose around his collar. Tavi blinked- she had never seen him in anything formal besides his uniform. Even that he generally somehow contrived to make it look casual. "What the hell, Tavi?"

"I needed to see you."

The muskrat harrumphed angrily. "I'll have her removed, Mr. Cassidy-"

"No, never mind. Just- see that no one else disturbs me, okay? I mean it- no matter what."

Janet's eyes flicked between the mongoose and human as Tavi walked into the room. " _Oh_. I see."

Both Hunter and Tavi winced. "It's not like that-"

"Oh, well, we're very open-minded here, of course. Although just- well, isn't there a size difference during-"

Hunter closed the door on her. "So how did you find me?"

Tavi was still staring at the door. "Um, does she really think that you and I are, um-"

"We are literally never having that conversation, rookie. How did you find me?"

"Well, the only place a human can blend in is in the tourist areas. Naturally everyone is looking there, though, so I thought about where a human could hole up without questions being asked or answered. So naturally I thought of-"

"Whorehouses. Naturally."

" _Brothels_ ," corrected Tavi.

He cocked his head at her. "Does using that word actually make you feel better?"

"Not really," she admitted. "Anyway, since there are a number of brothels catering to, er, specialized tastes among the tourist trade, I figured a human wouldn't stand out too much and if the cops came around, they'd get stonewalled. So I just started checking every brothel I could think of."

For a long moment, Hunter stared at her. "That's pretty smart, rookie."

She felt a warm glow of pride- which was quenched as another thought occurred to her. "I'm not a rookie anymore."

"Huh?"

"I quit."

Hunter looked at her, then sat down on the small bed and covered his eyes with his hands. "I'm sorry, Tavi. I've screwed this whole thing up."

"Hunter-"

"Hey, we're both civilians now. Well, I guess I'm technically still a cop, but I'm pretty sure that won't last long. So it's Zach."

"Anila," said Tavi quietly. "Why won't you talk to us?"

He looked up at her, and she winced inwardly at the defeated look on his face. "So I hear my background is pretty common knowledge around the station?"

"Um, yeah."

"I was cured, you know," said Hunter. "One hundred percent. No more delusions, no more voices. No more thinking the shadows were hiding assassins." He sighed. "No more seeing how people looked at me, no more seeing the very real whispers, the conversations they had behind my back. Or so I thought."

Tavi sat down and listened.

"I joined the department because- get this, you'll love it- I wanted to help people. I figured after the cure, the past was in my past, and what would matter is what I did to make the world a better place. But word spread, and pretty soon I was getting odd looks, people were talking behind my back, and I started to realize that you can cure the disease, but you can't cure people of their prejudice."

"Mammals can learn to see past that, Zach."

"Really? Let me know when they start, so I can mark it on my calendar."

She stared at him. "What about Nick and Judy? What about me?"

He studied her. "What about you?"

"I'm here."

Hunter smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are." His expression changed, became harder. "And as it happens, I ran into Nick and Hopps too, today."

"You what?"

"I was checking out some leads to try and find Lucas. It sort of intersected with their investigation, so I ran into them while we were both trying to interview the same mammal."

Tavi hesitated. "What happened?"

"They tried to arrest me," said Hunter.

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I don't think Nick's heart was really into it, but Hopps- she's got some trust issues."

" _Judy?"_

"Oh, I know- naive bunny rabbit and all that. Well, the thing is, naivete does not last long in a cop- either it goes or the cop goes. And when you take that away, when someone gets burned for trusting, well, the reaction can be extreme. Hopps is falling back on absolutes, like departmental policy and statutory law, as a substitute for trusting that I know what I'm doing."

"And why would she trust that, Zach?"

He looked at her, his eyes wide with shock- and anger. "What?"

"Look, I trust you, but I'm a stupid rookie. Judy is being the responsible one here," said Tavi firmly. "Did they tell you that you might have been exposed to Night Howler? And its effects on humans?"

"Yes, but-"

"You've been paranoid and even irrational- even if this Lucas guy is a bad guy, why on earth would you assault him on the street? You evade arrest, won't tell us what's going on, and then expect us to just shrug and say, 'well, I guess he knows what he's doing?'" She stood up and walked up to him, and though the mongoose was far smaller than the human- even sitting down- she didn't feel like he was looking down at her at all.

"Maybe we'll be in danger if we help, maybe you're just trying to protect us- but it's our choice to make, Zach. Not yours."

Hunter started to speak, then stopped. Finally, he fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Damn. I really screwed up."

With some difficulty, Tavi pulled herself onto the bed. "Yeah. Rookie mistake."

He smiled at her, then turned his gaze back to the ceiling. "You want to know who Lucas is?"

She nodded. "That's a start."

"He's a serial killer. Klaus Lucas."

"The one you caught."

"Yeah. But there's more." He paused. "I've never told anyone about this before."

She stayed quiet and waited.

"I wasn't supposed to catch him. No one was. When I told the detectives about my theory that he was dumping bodies into a storm drain that led to the lake where the bodies were turning up, they ignored me. And told me to stay out of their business. At the time, I thought they just were- well, let's just say I didn't get good scores on the 'works well with others' section of my performance evaluations."

"Yeah, that's not really a 'past tense' thing, Zach-"

" _Anyway_ , when I caught him he tried to bribe me. That's not real unusual- well, maybe for a serial killer as opposed to a dope dealer- but he implied that he had done it before." Hunter's eyes tracked the fan that turned lazily above them. "When I refused, he said that if I wouldn't let him go out of greed, then maybe I would out of gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Tavi was puzzled. "For what?"

"That's what I said. Then he told me that he knew about my past history of schizophrenia. Said he what he was doing was research. That he had used these methods in the past- including, mind you, experimentation on living and conscious subjects- to cure schizophrenia, among other things."

Tavi stared at him in horror. Hunter didn't meet her eyes, just kept them on the ceiling.

"I didn't believe him- why should I? But now- if he was conducting experiments, that meant he had some backing. And if he's faked his execution- and the pictures of him from AlphaCen in the news- that means he had _major_ backing." He finally looked at Tavi. "Like the sort of backing that would come from someone interested in his scientific results, regardless of the cost of them."

"But that would mean-"

"That I'm cured because a lot of people were tortured and murdered. That I owe whatever I've made of myself to a vicious, amoral bastard." He sat up. "You want to know why I'm acting so irrational, Anila? I doubt it has anything to do with Night Howler. I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that I'm..." his mouth worked, trying to get the words out. "I'm scared, Tavi. This guy didn't try to kill me, he undercut everything about me. He made me question who and what I am." He sighed and put a hand to his temple. "All this whining I'm doing is giving me a headache. You got any aspirin?"

Tavi shook her head. "You're not whining, Zach. You're being honest."

"Okay, all this honesty is giving me a headache. Look, Tavi, you want to help?"

She answered without hesitation. "Yes."

"Fine. Here's something you can do."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Janet the muskrat looked up as Tavi walked out. "Wow, you two were in there a while. More stamina than I would have expected from an older mammal."

"Ugh. We were just talking," said Tavi angrily.

"Oh, one of those, huh? Try to get them to upgrade, honey, they usually will once they get it all out of their system-"

She made a disgusted noise and turned to walk away.

"Hey, if you want some more work, just give me a call!" shouted Janet. "We could always use smaller mammals for-"

"Do not finish that sentence!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: So Erinnyes01 brought up an excellent point in a review, where it was noted that Judy's skepticism towards the conspiracy theory was kind of weird considering the background of the story. That's absolutely true- I wrote that scene poorly, I think- I was trying to stress her growing belief that Hunter might be starting to suffer from the effects of Night Howler, not so much the craziness of what he was specifically saying, but that did not come across. That's my fault. Sorry about that. If I can ever figure out how to edit posted chapters in FF I will try to re-write it. Seriously, shoot me a PM if you can explain it to me._

 _So who is right in this very angsty chapter about trust? That's a good question. I actually veered between supporting different viewpoints throughout this thing, which is probably a good sign I nailed the ambiguity, though obviously I could be wrong and others might disagree._

 _(The following is a digression where I talk about some of my theories about writing; feel free to skip it if you're not interested in the maunderings of a crazy person on the Interwebs. It has nothing to do with the story except maybe with regard to my writing process.)_

 _This leads me to a quick little soapbox moment regarding ambiguity in writing. To me, ambiguity is a key component of thoughtful writing- it allows a reader to empathize with other points of view and in so doing learn to see different sides and get into the heads of people who might have far different backgrounds. I tend to strongly disagree, however, with_ plot _ambiguity. The best example is probably Frank Stockton's famous short story,_ The Lady or the Tiger? _(You can Google it and get the whole story if you're interested). To me, that sort of open-ended plot point is kind of cheating- the story you're writing is yours, and you control what happens. Saying, well, it's up to you to figure out what happens next- especially when you go out of your way to subvert expectations or make multiple, mutually contradictory outcomes seem likely or at least possible, which you should- seems like a cop out. A plot should be surprising and challenge expectations, but has to be real and make sense, and it should be there to tell a story. My answer to the_ Lady and the Tiger _when we studied it oh-so-long-ago in class was to flip a coin. Heads, it was the Lady, tails, the Tiger. My Literature professor was not amused, but I pointed out that since it could be argued equally either way, it was equally valid to use a binary randomized decision generator to decide. To me, that's not particularly challenging to the reader, except in how to deal with frustration._

 _Ambiguity in characterization, however, strikes me as much more reasonable. I've done a number of Alternate Character Interpretations (thanks for the term, TV Tropes!) in here, and it's both fun and challenging to both myself as a writer and hopefully to my readers. It means that you have to get in people's heads and think about them. The plot then either subverts or confirms your expectations, and then you have to readjust your thinking and confront why you were wrong. Of course, if the plot fails to conform to the characterization the writer established, that often means the writer screwed up (for example, having a character exposed to multiple conspiracy theories reject the latest, to take a random case). But the bottom line is that the plot- the actions of the characters- is a key component in your interpretation of the characters themselves. Failing to resolve that, to me, is a failure of the writer. It's sort of the scientific method of writing- you make a hypothesis about a character, then a testable prediction, then see if the plot confirms your prediction. Like I said, of course, poor writing can undercut that._

 _Short version: Ambiguity in plot (usually) bad; ambiguity in characterization good. This, of course, is my personal opinion and I may well be completely wrong. But it's an interesting argument, isn't it?_


	15. Chapter 15

"At least I found out a bit more about what Lucky's been up to. I was talking more with his mother."

Nick looked at Judy when she spoke. They both had been sitting quietly in their car for the last few minutes. Around them, the officers searching for Hunter were mostly gone, though a few wolves still sniffed curiously around. Idly, Nick turned on the 'wail' siren briefly. Immediately, the wolves started howling along with the siren.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Really, Nick?"

"Oh, come on, it's funny."

"Lucky generally sort of hung out at home most of the time, though it was pretty clear to everyone except his mother that he was out doing burglaries or something occasionally. Until a few weeks ago, after he attended the funeral of Tommy Two-Tone."

"Tommy's dead?" asked Nick in surprise. "That's a shame."

The bunny frowned at him. "Tommy Two-Tone was a minor league mobster, Nick."

"Yeah, I know, but he owed me three hundred and fifty dollars."

"Why- no, I don't want to know. Anyway, after the funeral, he started taking his mother's van more frequently when he went out, and stayed out longer and longer. She also found these in his room." Judy pulled out some photographs, which showed bullets. The ruler next to them showed they had been taken as part of the investigation. "The investigators are going to tag them now. It also means that we can hold Lucky for charges- that's felony possession of criminal instruments."

"Okay, good. Maybe he'll start talking to cut a deal. But you're thinking he met someone at the funeral that put him onto this scheme." Nick nodded thoughtfully. "Who else went to the funeral?"

"Well, um, you may not like this..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He's not still mad at you, Nick."

The two stood in front of Mr. Big's mansion on the outskirts of Tundratown, being patted down by polar bears. One of them turned Nick around roughly and pushed him against the car as he continued the search. "Oh, I think he's still pretty angry."

"No, he's been very nice recently- look, Koslov, is Mr. Big still angry at Nick for the skun- the, um, rug thing?"

The polar bear she addressed thought for a moment. "Is still mad."

"See?" said Nick.

"But is willing to-"

"Forgive?" asked Judy hopefully.

"Wait. Because he is friend to you, and you are friend to him. But someday, maybe he not be friend to you. Then-"

Nick looked at the polar bear, then at Judy. "Hey, have I told you how much I love you today?"

"It's not the same when you're under duress, Nick."

"Is causing problem for you?" asked Koslov, eyeing Nick. One paw reached under his jacket.

Judy quickly grabbed him and pulled him close, giving the bear a big smile. "No, no! We're still best of friends!"

The polar bear's eyes narrowed, then he nodded. "Is good. All _tovarischi_ here. Come."

"Friends?" whispered Nick to her as they followed the bear through the mansion.

"I said best of friends!"

"Uh-huh. Say, do you sleep with all your friends, or just your _best_ friends?"

"Not the time, Nick."

"I'm just saying-"

"Do you really want to have an argument in front of the polar bear who is looking for any sign of discontent between us so he can _ice_ you?"

Nick blinked. "Wow, that's pretty impressive artwork," he said brightly. "I especially like the rug- um, paintings. Great brushwork."

Koslov glanced at him, glanced at the painting. "Is impressionist. Georges Seuchat. Note use of color to emphasize mood and pointillist technique. Goal was to take basic elements of art- line, color, darkness, light- and blend into harmonious representation of-"

The polar bear droned on as Nick and Judy gave each other surprised looks.

They found themselves in front of the door of Mr. Big's office. "-language of art," finished Koslov. "Do you find technique effective, Mr. Wilde?"

"Um. Yeah. It was really pretty."

For a long moment Koslov stared at him. "Pretty."

" _Really_ pretty."

The polar bear looked at Judy. "He is friend still?"

"Yes!"

With a sigh, Koslov opened the door. "After you."

Mr. Big sat at a desk- which itself sat on a much larger, bear-sized desk- in the room. He looked up. Judy leaned forward so he could kiss both cheeks. "Ah, Judy. How good to see you. And Nicholas. You two are still getting along?"

Koslov leaned closer.

Nick nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir. We're the very best of, um, friends."

Koslov leaned back, disappointed.

"You should come by more often, Judy. You're family. And a shrew who doesn't spend time with his family is not a good shrew." He glanced at Nick. "A good shrew always takes care of family."

Nick gulped.

Judy gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just- you know, the job and all-"

"Please. I am a legitimate businessmammal now."

"Always," muttered Koslov to his boss.

"I've always been a legitimate businessmammal," said Mr. Big smoothly. "There is no reason for animosity between us."

"Then you won't mind helping us with an investigation," said Judy. "Do you know this tiger?"

She slid the booking photo of Lucky towards the shrew, who studied it as it lay in front of him. Mr. Big looked inquiringly at Koslov.

Koslov leaned over. "Is Lucky. Two-bit thug from Savannah Square. No one important."

"But he's gotten involved in something important," said Judy. "We've linked him to the gun trade, as well as the disappearances of multiple mammals. We think he met someone at Tommy Two-Tone's funeral."

Mr. Big leaned back in his chair. "I see. If I help you on this, Judy, perhaps you could help me with something. One day- and that day may never come- I may ask you for a favor-"

"No."

Mr. Big's expression froze. Koslov let out a low growl.

"I'm sorry," continued Judy. "But I can't help you with your-" she glanced at Koslov, who had a paw under his jacket "-completely legitimate business activities. I'm asking you as a citizen who might be able to help the police with our inquiries."

For a long moment, the shrew stared at her. "You come to me and say, 'Help me', but you don't even ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You just ask me to 'help you' as a concerned citizen." He stood up. "For the service you have done for my family, I will let you leave. But if there is nothing you can offer me- well, friendship is a two way street." He shrugged. "See them out, Koslov."

As Koslov started towards them, Nick leaned forward. "I heard you're not involved in the firearms getting shipped onto the planet, sir."

Mr. Big shrugged as Koslov's paws fell on their shoulders. "No. I have many friends in politics, but they would not be so friendly if they knew my business was guns."

"And if you won't get involved, won't others?" asked Nick, as Koslov steered him towards the door. "Competition is bad enough, but what about _heavily armed_ competition?" Koslov, very firmly, guided them towards the door.

"Wait." Mr. Big's voice was quiet, but Koslov immediately stopped.

The two cops turned to face the gangster. He was leaned back in his chair, watching the ceiling contemplatively. "It is no small matter to be seen helping the police in my business," said Mr. Big.

"That would be the _completely legitimate_ business you're in?" said Nick. He winced. "Sorry."

Koslov leaned close. "We have saying in old country, fox. _Lusche molchat._ It means, better to keep silent. Is wisdom."

"Right. _Molchat_ -ing now."

"I don't know anything about this Lucky," said Mr. Big, finally, who gave no indication he had heard anything.

Judy sighed. "It's important-"

He held up a paw. "But I will have my boys look around. Perhaps they can help you." He nodded at Koslov. "Show my friends out."

As they walked through the mansion again, Nick let out a breath. "That could have gone better."

"Hey, he said we were family," Judy pointed out. "And he's going to try to help us."

"First, he said _you_ were family. And second, by the end we'd been downgraded to _friends_." Nick shrugged. "And third, who knows if he can find anything, if he'll actually tell us if he found anything, and whether he finds anything in time to help us."

"It's better than nothing."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nothing's happened, sir," said Barker to Bogo.

"Well, I suppose that's better than something," muttered Bogo. "No sign of Hunter?"

The wind whistled down the street outside Jaeger's hotel. Barker, Bogo, and her current partner- a hippo named Seeko- were in plainclothes, huddled in an alley some distance away from the hotel's entrance. Bogo had decided that Jaeger was going to get some protection whether he wanted it or not- though they were keeping a low profile.

Well, as low a profile as you can get when a hippo, wolf, and water buffalo tried to be inconspicuous. At least Bogo would be leaving soon. He had only dropped by to check on the two officers.

"Nothing's exploded," said Seeko. "So that's a good sign."

"Hunter can be pretty subtle," said Bogo. "Though not usually by choice."

"Speaking of lack of subtlety," said Barker, "Why was there a tank on the roof of ZPD's main headquarters today?"

Bogo sighed. "Highfall Armory. They're trying to sell us armored vehicles to go with the new SWAT teams."

"And they thought a King Cobra anti-gravity light battle tank was appropriate?" asked Barker.

Bogo's eyes narrowed. "Light battle tank? They said it was an armored vehicle."

"Well, yes, technically. It looked to me like they just removed the main gun and replaced it with a grenade launcher. Hopefully for tear gas, though with those guys you never know."

Seeko's eyes were wide. "Cool."

The chief glared at him, then looked back to Barker. "How do you know this?"

"I spent a year with the humans, chief. A lot of their cops are former military."

"So are we getting a tank, chief? A flying tank?" asked Seeko excitedly.

"No!"

"But-"

"I don't even want to think about my officers in a tank. Especially a flying one. Can you imagine, say, Hunter in a flying tank?"

Barker winced as the mental image came to mind. She then frowned and raised her binoculars as a delivery van pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel. She tried to remember if she ever saw delivery trucks pull up to the main entrance.

Seeko frowned. "Well, you said he can be subtle."

"Seeko, put the words 'Hunter', 'flying', and 'tank' together in your mind, and tell me if the resulting concept strikes you, in any way, as subtle."

"Well, it's not like he's working for us anymore-"

"Yes, but I think of Hunter when I'm considering worst case scenarios-"

"Like truck bombs?" asked Barker, her binoculars still raised.

"Yes, exactly- why that specific exam-"

The delivery van exploded.

The three cops picked themselves up off the ground, their ears ringing. "I thought you said he could be subtle!" shouted Seeko.

" _Could_ be, Seeko!" Bogo shook himself and raced towards the hotel entrance.

Barker drew her pistol and followed after him, Seeko at her heels.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Seeko continued calling out over the radio as they burst into the lobby. The truck bomb looked to be pretty low-yield, overall- it had smashed out the glass in the lobby, and made a big fireball, but no one seemed significantly injured. "Which way to his room?" asked Bogo.

Barker pointed up. "It's on the twelfth floor."

Seeko started towards the elevator. Barker stared at him in disbelief. "Seeko!"

"What?"

"The elevator, really? Do you want to get trapped in there?"

The hippo blanched. "You mean you want to take the stairs?"

In answer, Barker and Bogo raced to the stairway and started dashing upwards.

Seeko looked at the stairs and sighed. "I'll just guard the lobby!" he shouted up at the disappearing officers.

"Stairs aren't really a hippo thing," he muttered to himself. "Now if they want to chase someone down a nice, muddy river..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay," panted Barker. "This is the twelfth floor."

Bogo seemed, somewhat surprisingly to Barker, less fatigued than she was. "What room?"

"Twelve thirty four." She pointed. "To the right down this hall."

A warthog poked her head out of a room to their right. "What's going on?" she demanded in imperious tones. "I left strict orders not to be disturbed-" she trailed off as she saw the two officers, including Barker with her gun drawn.

"Go back inside and lock the door," ordered Barker. "Police business."

"What's going on, honey?" asked a sleepy voice. A male human in a robe joined the warthog at the door. "I thought you said you left orders not to be disturbed-" he saw the two cops and, with a surprised squeak, disappeared back inside.

Bogo and Barker looked at each other. "They aren't the only ones to be disturbed," muttered Barker.

"Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?" said the chief.

Barker moved down the hallway, her weapon pointed. Fortunately, no one else appeared.

Unfortunately, the door to 1234 was open.

Bogo frowned. "Barker-"

Before he could tell her to wait for back-up, the wolf went inside. Bogo immediately followed, though he knew it was stupid even as he did.

A room-service trolley was tipped over near the door, which was what held it open. The contents were scattered across the carpet- shattered glass crunched under their feet as they moved silently through the rooms. Barker swept the living room, then moved to the interior door that led to the bedroom and threw it open.

She scanned the room and sighed, lowering her gun.

Bogo moved up, and grimaced as he saw the body on the bed. "Damn."

A body- most likely Lucas Jaeger- lay on the bed, his face nearly shattered by multiple blows that rendered him almost unrecognizable. Hopelessly, Barker checked for a pulse. "He's dead," she said. She noted two bullet holes in his chest, which accounted for the blood quickly soaking the bedspread. She looked around and spotted the casings on the floor. She knelt to examine them, carefully. "Eleven millimeter," she confirmed. "Same as Hunter's gun."

"Yes, and I'm sure our ballistics tests will bear that out," said an unfamiliar voice behind her.

Both cops turned.

Two humans, dressed in identical suits, stood there. Both looked at Jaeger's body with a dispassionate interest.

"Who are you?" demanded Bogo.

"I'm Agent Wills, and this is Agent Turoi," said the speaker. He flipped open an ID. "Human Stars Ministry of Strategic Intelligence."

"Okay, and what are you doing here?"

A kangaroo, also wearing a suit, appeared. "They're here to provide a protective detail to Dr. Jaeger," said the kangaroo. He gulped as he saw the body. "Although it seems they're a bit late. James Leapzig, Department of State. What happened here, Bogo?"

Bogo exchanged glances with Barker. "We're not sure. At a guess, our suspect-"

"Hunter," said Wills. Bogo glared at him.

"Our _suspect_ \- possibly Hunter- detonated a truck bomb in front of the hotel. In the confusion, he slipped in, came up here, and killed Dr. Jaeger. Then- what do you think you're doing?" The last part was directed at Agent Turoi, who had moved up to the body.

"Verifying," said the human blandly. He held a small device to the corpse, then nodded when he saw the results on the screen. "It's Jaeger. DNA confirmed."

"This is a crime scene," Bogo said angrily. "You shouldn't even be here!"

"Relax, Chief Bogo," said Wills. "We're not exactly incompetent. We have extensive experience and training." Turoi walked back past him towards the living room.

Bogo looked at him, then at the floor. Following his gaze, Wills saw the bloody footprints left by Turoi as he had walked away from the corpse.

Wills coughed. "Anyone could have-"

"Hang on a second," said Barker. "If Hunter was up here, we must have just missed him. How'd he get out?"

"Presumably through the other stairwell," said Bogo.

"Which would lead to-"

"The lobby," Bogo said in sudden realization. He picked up his radio. "Twenty thirty two, come in." He waited a moment then keyed the mike again. "Twenty thirty two. Officer Seeko, respond."

Both cops looked at each other in horror, then ran downstairs.

Wills watched them go, then looked at Turoi, who was coming back in. "Really, Turoi? I mean, tracking blood around on a crime scene?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Barker swore as she ran through the door into the lobby.

Seeko lay limply on the floor. A horrified bellhop stood nearby. Barker checked for her partner's pulse- she couldn't find one- as she keyed her mike again. "Unit Twenty Thirty, I need immediate assistance! Officer down, officer down! I say again, I need immediate assistance!"

She ignored the horrified acknowledgement as she tried to start chest compressions. "No, no," she muttered.

Bogo ran up, took in the scene, and realized immediately there was nothing to be done for his officer. He looked at the bellhop. "What happened?"

"A human! Ran down the stairs-" he pointed to the second stairwell- "-and the cop tried to stop him."

"What did the human look like?" asked Bogo, keeping his voice steady with difficulty.

"I'm not sure- I ducked as soon as the officer pulled his gun. A male human, that's all I know for sure. Oh, and a dark pelt."

Bogo looked down at Barker, who had given up on chest compressions and was staring hopelessly at her partner.

"How could this happen?" the bellhop said, his voice trembling. "Who could do such a thing?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I want Hunter found," said Bogo, his voice carefully controlled. They had been allowed- allowed!- to run a quick ballistics test on the casings, and they matched Hunter's gun. "From now on, every cop is on the search." The assembled lieutenants and captains nodded, their own faces grim.

"What if he resists?" asked Captain Felix neutrally.

Bogo stabbed a finger at him. "Then you take him down. Hard." He looked at the faces surrounding him. "I'm not losing anyone else."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


	16. Chapter 16

Nick shucked off his vest and hung it in his locker at the ZPD station. With a sigh, he slammed the locker door shut- and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Tavi standing there. "Tavi? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." She smiled nervously. "Clawhauser let me in. I told him I left something in my locker."

"Oh, boy. I should probably arrest you or something."

"I talked to Hunter."

Nick stared at her. "Okay, now I really should arrest you. You realize he's a wanted fugitive?"

She handed him a cell phone. "He wanted me to give you this."

Nick looked at the cell phone, puzzled. It was one of the generic, prepaid types. "What's this?"

"It's a _cell phone_. They're pretty cool technology. Allows you to talk to mammals several hundred meters away, or even farther."

"Ha, ha. I meant- why does he- oh." Nick stepped back, holding his paws up in a warding gesture. "I am not taking that. Tavi, did you hear about what happened today?"

"It wasn't him," she snapped. "I know."

"Oh? How do you know?"

Her small ears flattened against her head and she looked away. "Because- look, just trust me, okay? Someone's framing him."

"Then their next step is going to be to get rid of him, Tavi. We can at least protect him here at ZPD."

"I don't know how to find him again." She held out the cell phone again. "If only there was some way to contact him-"

"Okay, okay, fine." Nick snatched the phone from her paw. "But seriously, how can you be so sure that he didn't kill Jaeger and Seeko?"

"Can't you trust me?"

"Depends." Nick squinted at her. "Am I trusting your opinion, or something you know as fact?"

"What?"

"Are you telling me he didn't do it because you believe he couldn't do it, or are you telling me because it's actually impossible he did it?"

After a moment, she sighed. "I tracked him to a, um, house of ill-repute-"

"A what?"

"A house of ill repute," she said firmly. "And talked to him there. He was there all afternoon with me."

Nick blinked. "Um. Wow. So you and Hunter-"

"No! I knew I shouldn't have said anything!" She put her paws on her hips and glared at him. "Why does everyone assume that he and I are, you know?"

"Well, there does seem to be some chemistry there-" began Nick.

"Argh! Look, he didn't do it, okay? That's the important thing."

"The attack happened at seven- nineteen hundred hours," said Nick. "You were with him that long?"

She hesitated. "Almost. I left a little before six."

Nick shook his head. "Almost isn't good enough, Tavi."

"It would have taken some time to set up," she argued. "He couldn't have-"

"He could have pre-placed the van," said Nick. He sighed. "Look, I'm having a hard time believing he could have done it, too. But the gun was his- they were able to get ballistics back on it. The dead guy is Jaeger, whom he wanted to kill- threatened to kill. And I know that he's capable of it." He thought back to a warehouse, saw Hunter holding a gun to Horne's head, squeezing the trigger. "Even in cold blood."

"But a cop?" Tavi's voice was pleading.

After a moment, Nick shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I think he would have given up rather than shoot someone innocent, especially a cop."

"So you don't think he did it?"

"No. But Judy- she doesn't want to believe it, but-" he spread his paws helplessly. "Maybe it's a prey thing. I just don't know that she has it in her to hurt someone seriously even in self-defense, and she probably has a lot of trouble trusting someone who does."

"She trusts you."

"Yeah, but I work at it. Hunter doesn't really work at relationships very well. Or at all."

Tavi looked down at her feet. "Yeah," she said disconsolately. "I know."

The fox cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, just hang in there. I mean, you guys are pretty far apart in age, but sooner or later he may notice how you feel and-"

She looked up at him, her eyes widening in anger. "I don't have a crush on him!" she shouted.

Nick patted her on the head. "I'm just joking, Tavi. Sheesh. Though you do protest pretty loudly every time it's mentioned-"

She threw her paws in the air. "Just- wait by the phone, okay? Ugh!" She stalked off.

Nick turned back to his locker. "Mongooses. So emotional."

He frowned in thought. "Mongoosi? Mongeese?"

"It's mongoosen- I mean, mongooses!" shouted back Tavi.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo walked into the station, blinking at Clawhauser behind the desk. "What are you wearing?"

"Bullet-proof vest, sir!" said Clawhauser. "In case Hunter comes here."

"They found one in your size?"

"Um, well, technically it's for a rhino- but it is very nearly the smallest rhino size they have-"

Bogo shook his head. "If Hunter comes here, our perimeter team will stop him." He turned to look at the human scurrying towards him. "Now what?"

Seymour, the Highfall Armory rep, nodded in greeting. "Hello, chief. Look, I hear you have a rogue officer. Would you be interested in using the King Cobra armored vehicle at all? After all, you can't be too careful."

"No, you can't, which is why I'm not using a _flying tank_." Bogo brushed past him to walk towards his office.

"It's an armored vehicle! We took out the main gun!"

"We don't need a tank! Besides, no one has been trained how to use it."

Seymour, almost jogging to keep up, held up a finger. "Ah, that's where the Fully Autonomous AI mode comes in-"

Bogo came to a stop. "The what?"

"Simply designate a target according to custom parameters, which can include facial recognition, weapon scans, behavioral patterns-"

The water buffalo stared at him in incredulous horror. "That's a robotic flying tank? Fully autonomous?"

Seymour blinked. "Well, yes."

"Fully autonomous flying tanks." Bogo started walking again. "You mammals are _insane._ "

"But we're almost positive we got all the bugs out after the Fifth AI War!" shouted Seymour at his retreating back.

"You've had five AI Wars?" asked Clawhauser.

The human turned to look at him. "Well, six, actually."

"But I thought you said that you got all the bugs out after the fifth..."

"Let's put it this way. When there's a pop-up on the screen of your robotic flying tank's menu that says 'urgent patch', don't click the 'postpone eight hours' button."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't think the chief actually trusts us to arrest Hunter," said Nick.

"Why?"

"Because somehow I don't see Hunter being likely to come to the middle of the largest glacier in Tundratown."

The two stood inside a tiny prefabricated hut, just off the main railway. The wind drove snow across their view, so thick that as far as they could tell they were currently inside a featureless white ball about forty meters in radius.

Judy sighed. "Maybe it's for our own good."

The fox frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean- if they find Hunter, what do you think's going to happen? They're not going to go easy on him- he killed- I mean, he looks like he killed Seeko!"

"Yeah, but if he took out Jaeger, maybe he's ready to come in."

"You didn't hear?" Nick looked at her questioningly. "The Human Stars are insisting on extradition, and plan to charge him on some sort of terrorism act that lets them try extra-territorial crimes."

Nick paused. "Um, from what Hunter has said, the justice system in the Human Stars is pretty-"

"Quick? Sometimes corrupt? _Final_?" She leaned back against the wall and slid down dejectedly. "They're going to execute him," she said quietly.

"What?"

"Oh, he'll have his day in court, but- it's pretty damning, Nick." She buried her face in her paws. "How did this happen?"

Nick put a paw on her shoulders. "Carrots...what if we...he may still be innocent. It's all circumstantial. If we can help him-"

She looked up at him. "What are you saying?" she whispered.

"Get him off planet. From there-" Nick shrugged. "There are other human nations out there. He can get away, maybe have a-"

She stood up and despite his larger size, the look she gave him made him feel very small. "Help him? I wanted to help him, Nick, by getting him in custody." Tears shone in her eyes. "Did you really try your best back at Lucky's house? Or did you forget you swore an oath to uphold the law?"

"He's our friend, Carrots!"

"He's a suspect, Nick! It was his gun used to kill Jaeger and Seeko. When are you going to face facts? It hurts me, too, but we have a job to do!"

Nick avoided her eyes. "Just give him up to the system? Just let him take his chances?"

"He made his bed, Nick. I don't think we can keep him from having to lie in it." He flinched as she threw his words back at him.

For a long moment, Nick stared at her. Then, he grabbed his heavy jacket from where it was hanging near the door. "Where are you going?" asked Judy in surprise.

He looked back at her as he shrugged on the jacket. "I need to think for a bit, Judy. I'll be back later. We still need to talk about this."

"Nick, we can't leave our post."

"Just taking a walk, Fluff." He turned to the door. She noticed him pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. "Don't you trust me?"

She stared at the door as it slammed shut.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"There you are," said Hunter as Nick's figure approached the alley. "Do you have any idea how cold it is in Tundratown?"

Nick looked around the alley, which sat next to a seedy-looking bar. He looked at the pavement, but the bloodstain from the bear he had shot had long ago faded. "Negative three, Hunter. There's this handy little thing called a thermometer-"

"Where's Judy?"

"Holding down the fort. The whole department is looking for you, Hunter." The fox leaned against one of the walls of the alley, feeling the rough brick even through his thick coat. "You wanted to meet, I'm meeting." He held up the burner cell phone Hunter had given him.

The human sighed. "I didn't kill anyone, Nick, so you can take your other paw off your gun."

Nick looked at him, then pulled out his other paw from his pocket. "You got a good eye- I figured the coat covered it up pretty well."

"It was either that or you were happy to see me."

"And we both know that isn't true."

Hunter smiled. "So I suppose you're wondering what my plan is."

"Oh, you have a plan now? This ought to be good."

"I'm going to turn myself in."

"I was wrong, before- this is not good." Nick shook his head. "They're going to extradite you to the Human Stars."

The human stared at him. "What? They can't-"

"Dr. Jaeger was apparently considered a 'valuable asset' to the Human Stars, which I guess is how governments say they really liked him and thought he was a pretty cool guy. So his murder is classified as an act of terrorism."

"I didn't kill him."

"Yeah, you want to tell that to a judge? I'm probably your best friend- which is a scary thought- and I'm not even sure I believe you." Nick stepped closer to his friend. "Look, I still have contacts. I can get you to a safehouse, then maybe we can arrange something to get you off planet. A smuggler or something."

Hunter was shaking his head. "No."

"Why not? You know what they'll do to you in the Human Stars."

"They'll give me a fair trial and then a short drop with a sudden stop."

"Getting hanged sounds like a bad plan, Hunter."

"I'm fifty-three years old, Nick. I'm too damn old to spend my life on the run." Hunter sagged against the brick wall.

"So you're just giving up?" Nick glared at him. "If you didn't do it, then why would you-"

"Because sometimes you just can't win," said Hunter. His voice was tired. "Sometimes, you just have to fold. Maybe I'll win the next round."

"If there's one thing I've learned from Judy-"

"Yeah? What would Judy say, Nick?" Hunter's voice had a slight edge.

"She would tell you to-"

"Give up, Hunter."

Both turned towards the mouth of the alley. "Carrots?" squeaked Nick.

"Step away from him, Nick." She moved closer, and they saw the gun she held to her shoulder, aimed at Hunter. "Show me your hands, Hunter."

He raised his hands, glanced at Nick. "I guess that answers that question." He looked back at Judy. "Don't worry, kid, I'm going to come quietly."

"Get on the ground." Her stance was wary, her nose twitching. Slowly, Hunter lowered himself to the ground and spread his hands away from his body.

"Judy-" began Nick.

He was interrupted by the sudden arrival of two officers in full SWAT gear rushing into the alley. "Back away from him, Wilde," shouted McHorn, who also stood in the alley's mouth.

Nick shuffled back as the two SWAT mammals approached. "Going paws!" shouted one. The other moved to cover Hunter, who stayed very still as he was somewhat roughly cuffed and searched.

"Does he have the gun?" asked McHorn.

"No, sir."

The rhino walked up as Hunter was yanked to his feet. "This is a good look for you, Hunter. Matching bracelets."

Hunter eyed him. "Hey, McHorn. Long time no see."

"You're going to have to look good, Hunter. You've got a date." He leaned closer. "With the hangman."

"At least you never have to worry about that, McHorn. There's not a rope strong enough to-" he cut off as the rhino buried a fist in his stomach.

"You watch your mouth, you cop-killing son of a-"

"That's enough, Officer McHorn!" shouted Bogo. The rhino turned in surprise.

"It's, er, sergeant, chief-"

"Not for long." Bogo stared him down, then looked around at the other officers.

Nick quickly pulled his paw out of his jacket and cleared his throat nervously. Judy stood stock-still, her weapon half-raised, eyes wide and nose twitching. Bogo looked at the two officers holding Hunter. "Take him to headquarters. You will be completely professional and he is to arrive unharmed." He stabbed a finger at them. "If there is a so much as a single mark on him, I will have your badges."

Hunter looked at him. "Thanks, chief."

"I'm not doing it because I care about what happens to you, Hunter," said Bogo without looking at him. "I'm doing it because we do this by the book, and I'm not seeing you get off on any kind of technicality."

"I didn't kill Seeko or Jaeger."

"That's for a court to decide," said Bogo. He gestured. "Book him."

Judy met his eyes as they walked him out. He gave her a slight smile. "You did the right thing, Hopps."

"Can you forgive me?" she said, almost too quietly to hear.

He nodded. "Yeah." He looked at the two officers escorting him. "Can we get a move on? It's cold out here."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"How did you know?" asked Nick.

Judy kept walking, her gait stiff and angry. "That wasn't your cellphone. And I tried to think of why you would have a new cellphone when you had a perfectly good one. So I followed you."

"I didn't see you-"

"First of all, you shouldn't have Finnick drive you in that gaudy van of his if you're trying to keep a low profile. Second, bunnies are good at hiding. Not the first time I followed you through Tundratown without you noticing."

He winced. "Oh, right."

She rounded on him and he took a step back. "What the hell, Nick?"

"Um."

"I trusted you!"

"You followed me! Besides, he was going to give himself up!"

"Yeah, I heard. Except someone was trying to persuade him not to! Someone told him he should skip the planet and go on the run!" She poked him in the chest. "You're a cop, Nick!"

He tried to think, tried to come up with a way to defend himself, to turn the argument back on her. She said she trusted him, but then followed him here, which-

No.

She was right.

He looked down. "You're right. I'm sorry."

For a long moment, she gaped at him. "What?"

"I'm- look, Carrots, when you're living by your wits like I did when I was younger, friends are all you have. You can't trust anyone- so when you do, it's important. It means you believe them when they tell you things, it means you support them no matter what- because then they'll turn around and help you." He shrugged. "At least, theoretically. Doesn't always work out that way."

Judy studied him carefully. "You know I'm trying to help him, too. It's just that I have a bit more trust in the system."

"You know what's likely to happen to him."

Her ears dropped. "Yeah. But maybe if he gets a good lawyer- if he's innocent, then they'll find out. The system works, Nick."

"Most of the time, okay, I can buy that. But when it doesn't-"

"Nothing's perfect. Some mammals slip through the cracks."

"It's easier to say that when it's not someone you know who's slipping, Fluff."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: Again, not a political statement, though I'll note that the criminal justice system is not, nor ever will it be, perfect. Doesn't mean we scrap it, though. Just means we need to try harder. An imperfect justice system beats no system at all. Now exactly how- or if- we can make it better- that's a whole 'nother ballgame, and outside the confines of this story._

 _We're closing in on the endgame, here. Hope you're enjoying it. I expect to finish by, at latest, next weekend._


	17. Chapter 17

"The time is currently-" the zebra detective checked his watch "-nine thirty four AM. I am Detective Stripely and I'm currently speaking with- please state your name."

"Zacharia Hunter."

"Your full name, please."

Hunter sighed. "Zacharia Timothy Hunter."

Stripely blinked. "Timothy?"

Hunter narrowed his eyes. "Yes, but there are none who call me Tim."

The zebra paused. "Moving right along- your rights have been read to you. Do you understand them?"

Hunter sighed. "Yes."

"And are you willing to waive your rights so you can speak with me?"

"Yep." He made an exaggerated wave. "Good-bye, rights."

"Um, 'to waive' means to give them up, not-"

"I know that." Hunter squinted at him. "You realize usually I'm on the other side of that table, right?"

Watching from behind the one-way glass, Nick winced. "Oh, this is going to look great in court."

"He uses humor as a defense mechanism against stress, Nick." She glanced at him. "So do you. And to avoid uncomfortable conversations. And to drive away those who try to get close to you. And-"

"Maybe I'm just a funny kind of guy."

"Mr. Hunter, for the record, you are saying you do not want a lawyer?"

"No. I know that's generally a bad idea, but quite frankly I just want to say that I didn't kill the man you think was Lucas Jaeger, nor Officer Seeko."

"What about the gun?"

"I don't have any knowledge about what happened to it. I turned it in at the end of shift." Hunter leaned forward. "One thing I want to know. You're sure this 'Jaeger' guy is dead?"

"DNA results show-"

"Who took the DNA? Our people?"

Stripely paused. "Mr. Hunter, you realize I'm interviewing you. I'll ask the questions here."

"It was somebody else," said Hunter in realization. "That means-"

Everyone- including Nick and Judy- jumped as the door to the interrogation room swung open. A ram in a business suit barged in, carrying a briefcase. "This interview is over until I confer with my client."

Clawhauser poked his head in. "Sorry, Stripely, but he says he's Hunter's lawyer."

They all looked at Hunter, who looked as shocked as they were. "I didn't- I don't have-"

"I'm from the law offices of Wolf, Ram and Hart," said the lawyer briskly. "Mr. Hunter _is_ my client."

Stripely looked at Hunter, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What is this?"

"Hell if I know." Hunter looked back at the ram. "So I'm guessing you're Mr. Ram?"

The lawyer rolled his eyes. "Mr. Hart, actually. Mr. Ram is a wolf."

Hunter's confusion deepened. "Okay- so I assume Mr. Wolf is a deer?"

"Typical prejudice," sniffed the ram.

"So he's not a deer? He's a wolf?"

" _Ms._ Wolf is indeed a wolf."

Hunter blinked. "Okay, let's start over. Why are you here?"

"Because you are my client." Hart looked at Stripely. "I assume there's a room we can use with some privacy."

Speechless, Stripely pointed at a door on the other side of the room. "That's for client-lawyer meetings," he managed to say.

"Come with me, Mr. Hunter. We have much to discuss." The ram swept through the door.

Hunter stood, uncertainly. "Um. Well, it seems I have a lawyer. This shouldn't take too long." He grinned. "I've never fired a lawyer before, so at least that's something." He followed the ram through the door.

Stripely stared. "What just happened?"

Nick looked at Judy. "I'm kind of wondering the same thing."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy stood up as the interview room door swung open. "That was quick," observed Judy.

"Yeah. Lawyers don't usually get to the point in less than half an hour."

Hunter walked out, hesitantly. He sat down and glanced at his attorney, who stood next to him. He then turned back to Stripely. "I'm ready."

"Let it be noted that I advised my client against this course of action," said Hart.

Nick and Judy exchanged confused looks.

"Mr. Hunter, just to be clear, you still understand your rights and wish to make a statement?" asked Stripely warily.

"Yes." Stripely looked at Hart.

"He does."

"Well," said Stripely, clearing his throat. "Now, you say-"

"I killed Jaeger," said Hunter, his voice a monotone.

"What?" cried Judy.

Nick felt a cold chill run through him. He seemed frozen to the floor.

Stripely stared at Hunter. "You killed Dr. Jaeger."

"And Officer Seeko." Hunter sagged in his chair. "I set off a truck bomb to create a distraction, then snuck in through a delivery entrance to the lobby. I used the stairs to get to Jaeger's room and shot him in the- in the chest. Oh, and I hit him a bunch of times to knock him out."

"And Officer Seeko?" asked Stripely neutrally.

Hunter hesitated. Suddenly, he winced and grabbed his head. "You're giving me a headache," he growled.

"Hunter," said Hart warningly.

With an angry glance at the attorney, Hunter continued. "Seeko caught me on the way out. I wasn't trying to kill him- I didn't think an eleven millimeter pistol could kill a hippo. I guess I figured wrong."

"No," whispered Nick. He looked at Judy, who watched Hunter, her arms crossed tightly across herself.

"Then I beat it out of there."

"What about the gun?"

Hunter shrugged. "Ditched it in the first river I came across."

There was a long silence. "Would you be willing to sign a statement to that effect?" asked Stripely.

"No, he would not," snapped Hart.

"Sure, bring it on," said Hunter wearily.

"This can't be right," muttered Nick. "Judy, I-"

He frowned when he turned and saw Judy was gone.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The door to the interrogation room slammed open, and Judy stalked in. "How could you!" she screamed at Hunter.

The cop's eyes turned wide, and he stood so quickly that Stripely danced back, eyeing him warily.

"You were my friend!" Judy was crying.

Hunter looked around, almost desperately. Then he rounded on Stripely. "Get her out of here!"

"Sit down, Hunter-"

"I'm not saying one more goddamn thing until you get that crazy bitch out of here!" snarled Hunter. "I mean out of here completely! Out of the fucking building!" He turned and looked at Hart, who took a step back when he saw Hunter's face. "You verify that she's gone, dammit! Or there will be no cooperation from me, you got that?"

The bunny took a step forward. "You murdering-"

"Get the hell out of here, Judy." Hunter glared down at her. "And make sure Nick goes with you."

The fox appeared and grabbed Judy as she started towards Hunter. "Carrots, no!"

"Let me go-"

"Get her out of the building," snapped Stripely. "Now!"

Still struggling with Judy, Nick yanked her backward and the door slammed shut.

"What kind of chickenshit investigation are you running here, Stripely?" said Hunter angrily. He looked at Hart. "I said verify she's out of the building, Hart."

The ram walked to the door, then looked over his shoulder. "Don't say anything until I get back. And don't sign anything."

"Let's just get this over with," said Hunter as he collapsed back into his seat.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What did you say to him?" demanded Nick as the lawyer walked them out of the building. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"All conversations with clients are privileged, Officer Wilde," said the lawyer coldly. "I cannot gainsay his decisions."

"This is some kind of trick," said Nick. "Judy, tell him!"

"I don't know-" she stumbled slightly as she walked, zombie-like after her recent loss of control. "I don't know what to think."

"He didn't do it!"

Hart turned away. "I'll do what I can to help him."

"And how much is that?"

The ram's shoulders slumped. "Not much," he said quietly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter glanced over the confession. "You misspelled 'complainant'", he pointed out.

"You want me to re-type it?"

"No, it's just a formality anyway," said Hunter. He signed the form as Hart walked back in.

"I told you not to sign anything!"

"Oh, gosh, you want me to sign another one with you here?" snapped Hunter. He paused. "You're kidding."

Stripely gave him an odd look. "Who's kidding?"

Hunter was shaking his head, but then looked at the ram. "Well?"

The lawyer stepped forward and placed the briefcase on the table. "I think there's a form in here-"

Hunter reached forward and Stripely stood up. "What-"

Hunter's hand came clear of the briefcase. In it, he held a gun. "Don't move," he warned.

Stripely stared at him. "What do you think you're going to do, Hunter? This building is full of cops!"

"Mostly unarmed. And it won't be long. There's a bomb in the building, in the-" he paused. "In the sub-basement. The boiler room. Send someone to check it out." He shrugged. "I'll wait."

"Once again, I must point out that I am strongly advising my client against this-"

"Shut up," said the zebra detective. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Clawhauser. I need someone to check out the boiler room in the sub-basement."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Clawhauser peered into the boiler room. "I don't see anything- wait."

He moved closer. "Should there be wires in the boiler room?"

Stripely sounded annoyed. "Yes, usually. The controls are electric."

"Oh, good. Are they supposed to be connected to weird plasticine blobs?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Clear the building," snapped Stripely. "Evacuate now." He looked at Hunter. "You've still got nowhere to go, Hunter."

"I'm not going far." The human held out a hand. "Cuffs."

Angrily, Stripely handed him the cuffs and was quickly restrained. He looked and saw Hunter cuffing the ram. "What are you doing?"

"Hostage," said Hunter. "Let's go."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Officer Scruggs- Bomb Squad- was leaning back in his office chair, watching a movie on his computer when the phone rang. He answered. "Scruggs."

"It's Clawhauser."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"Look, we've got a bomb."

The ocelot brought his chair forward. "Okay, first thing is, are you seriously calling me on a cell-phone next to a bomb?"

"Um, yeah? Is that bad?"

Scruggs rubbed his forehead with one paw. "Well, yeah, but since you apparently didn't set it off, I guess it's not too bad. Why do you think we bought that ultra-expensive signal blocker from the humans for the bomb squad?"

"Sorry. Should I disconnect?"

"No, no. Like I said, it hasn't gone off yet. Okay, first of all, where are you and where's the bomb?"

"In the sub-basement boiler room."

Scruggs paused as he was reaching for the computer. "You're where now?"

"The boiler room of the station. The bomb's here too. What do I do?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy, sitting on the hood of a patrol car, looked up as a uniformed ocelot sprinted out of the building and down the street. "Wasn't that Scruggs?"

"Huh?" asked Judy, still distracted.

"The bomb disposal guy?" Nick scratched his head. "You know, doesn't he have a T-shirt that says 'Bomb Squad' on the front and 'If you see me running, try to keep up' on the back?"

Judy blinked at him. "What?"

Huffing and puffing, Clawhauser ran out the front door and started waving nervous mammals through. Nick and Judy trotted over to him as mammals poured out of the building. "What's going on?"

The cheetah stared at them. "There's a bomb! In the boiler room."

"What?"

Clawhauser spread his paws. "I guess Hunter knows about it? Stripely was the one who called me."

Nick and Judy exchanged looks.

"Where is he?"

They turned around, to see Tavi standing nearby, her eyes wide.

"He's still inside, I guess," said Clawhauser. "What are you doing here?"

Without a word, the mongoose raced into the building.

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers," muttered Judy. "Wait!" She raced after the mongoose.

Nick looked helplessly at Clawhauser. "Was it a big bomb?"

Wordlessly, the cheetah nodded.

"If we survive this, I'm going to strangle her," Nick said to himself. He turned and ran into the building as well.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter shoved the ram ahead of him. "Come on, we're on a schedule here."

"I'm moving as fast as I can with these cuffs on me," said Hart. "Was it really necessary to cuff me?"

"Hell if I know."

They were moving down the hallway, which was eerily quiet without the usual staff. Hunter was headed for a stairwell, one of the ones in the large turret-like structures that spotted the massive headquarters' outer walls. As he moved further forward, a side door swung open and he spotted a brown-furred figure. "Tavi?" he said in confusion.

"Hunter!"

"There's a _bomb,_ Tavi, get the hell out of here!"

She was yanked back before she could speak, and replaced by another familiar face. This one holding a gun. "Hunter, halt!"

The human pulled the ram in front of him, putting the gun to his head. "Don't shoot, Judy."

"Let him go!"

Hunter kept edging forward, towards the stairwell. "Judy, get the hell away from here."

"Don't make me-"

"What?" shouted Hunter. He winced in sudden pain. Judy frowned as she heard a high-pitched, keening whine- was it coming from Hunter?

"Hunter! You're- you're sick. You need help!"

Nick leaned around the corner, too, his gun raised. "Hunter, just listen to her. This isn't going to work."

"Like hell!" Hunter stopped. "You can't make me-" he stopped again. His face hardened. "Catch me if you can."

Yanking the ram along with him, he raced for the stairs.

Judy moved from around the corner- only to duck for cover as Hunter fired backward, the rounds burying themselves into the ceiling.

Nick stared at her, his eyes wide, panting. "Judy, we need to get out of here."

Tavi shook her head. "I- I don't understand."

"He shot at me," said Judy, her voice disbelieving. She pulled back the bolt on her carbine, chambering a round.

Nick stared at her. "There wasn't even a round in your chamber?"

"There is now," she said, her voice determined. "Let's go."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter blinked as he threw the door to the roof open and came into the bright sunlight.

The roof of the ZPD building was covered with grass.

For the briefest moment, Hunter stared. He didn't know that it was a method of reducing the costs of air-conditioning. He didn't know that it was part of a former mayor's big "green the city" initiative. He didn't know that many considered it a massive boondoggle, the benefits of which came nowhere near the costs associated with the project.

He just knew that it was beautiful.

He moved further out onto the grassy field. Hart followed him.

"I guess this is it, then," he murmured. He looked up at the sky.

"What's the plan, Hunter?" Judy's voice from the stairwell was hard.

He turned to look at her. "Judy."

She moved slowly, keeping him covered as Nick moved out of the stairwell as well. "Is there supposed to be a skimmer coming to pick you up? Or were you planning on stealing that flying tank?"

Hunter gaped. "The flying what?" He glanced over to where she had looked. "Why the hell is there a tank on the roof?"

"Just put down the gun, Zach," said Nick. "Please."

"I can't," said Hunter, miserably. "You're going to have to shoot me."

Nick winced, and Judy blinked away a tear. "It doesn't have to be this way, Hunter."

"No," said Hunter, shaking his head.

"Just do it, Hunter," said Hart to him, tiredly. "You have to give up sometime."

There was a long pause, then Hunter turned and fired a single shot.

Hart crumpled to the ground, a bullet hole in his head.

"Oh, my God," said Nick. "Hunter-"

The human stood with the gun by his side. "You still haven't shot me," he said.

"Zach, for God's sake-"

"Hunter. We were friends," said Judy. Her voice shook. "Please, don't make me do this."

Hunter shook his head. "Never hesitate to take the shot, Judy."

Nick suddenly dropped his gun and lunged at Hunter, covering the distance between them so fast the human didn't even have time to react as the fox buried his teeth in Hunter's calf.

With a snarl of pain, Hunter yanked the fox off of him and threw him to the ground. Nick rolled and shakily pushed himself to his knees.

Hunter, limping slightly, turned back to Judy. "You know what's going to stop me."

"Just put the gun down," she said, her voice rising. "Just-"

He raised his gun and pointed it her.

"Zach!"

He paused, then his eyes flicked to the side. Towards Nick.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy's mind raced.

It didn't make sense.

He wasn't acting like a schizophrenic. He seemed almost- normal right up until the lawyer arrived.

There was something else going on here.

Why would he run upstairs? Why not try to steal a vehicle, something?

Why try to commit suicide-by-cop? He had plenty of opportunity to do that.

How could he have set a bomb in the building?

There were too many questions, and not enough time.

She moved closer.

"Stop, Judy." Hunter kept the gun on her. "Don't come any closer."

"Zach, listen- what's going on? This doesn't make any sense-"

He winced again, and she heard that same high-pitched whine. Her ears perked, turned toward him.

Hunter's eyes widened. He hesitated, then spun and raised the gun again.

Nick stared at the weapon.

Judy dashed forward, fell to a knee, and fired.

The staccato sound of multiple shots echoed across the rooftop, and Hunter spun around, his eyes wide. He slumped over, reached for his chest, and looked at the blood on his fingers. He looked up at Judy.

"You did the right thing."

He fell forward and lay still.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: Don't worry, I'm posting the next chapter right away. I despise long cliffhangers._


	18. Chapter 18

"The time is currently nine thirty four AM. I am Detective Stripely and I'm currently speaking with- please state your name."

"Zacharias Hunter," said Hunter tonelessly.

The interview continued. Hunter hadn't requested a lawyer, because he planned to tell them just what they needed to know and no more. Maybe Judy and Nick could find something out to help him. It was a weird thing to actually trust your life to someone. But so far his own attempts to work this out had failed pretty miserably.

Stripely asked about the gun.

"I don't have any knowledge about what happened to it. I turned it in at the end of shift." Hunter leaned forward. "One thing I want to know. You're sure this 'Jaeger' guy is dead?"

"DNA results show-"

"Who took the DNA? Our people?"

Stripely paused. "Mr. Hunter, you realize I'm interviewing you. I'll ask the questions here."

"It was somebody else," said Hunter in realization. "That means-"

He stopped. The only other organization that would be likely to do a DNA sample were- the humans. Jaeger was Klaus Lucas. He knew that. So if the humans had done a DNA sample and claimed the body was Jaeger- he felt a cold realization wash over him.

This wasn't a conspiracy _within_ the government.

This was a conspiracy _of_ the government.

The door swung open. "This interview is over until I confer with my client."

Hunter stared at the ram in confusion. Client? "I didn't- I don't have-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A moment later, he sat down in the small room with the ram. "Okay, so you're my lawyer."

"So it would seem," said Hart. He opened his briefcase.

"Well, you're fired." Hart ignored him as he rummaged through the briefcase. "Did you hear me? I mean, I can say it again. You're fired."

Hart came up with a small, skin-colored object. "Put this in your ear."

Hunter looked at him quizzically. "You're going to have to run that by me again."

The lawyer grimaced. "Put this in your ear and you'll understand what our position is."

"Our position?" Hesitantly, Hunter took the object. He recognized it. "It's an earpiece for a two-way radio link."

"Got it in one. Put it in your ear, Hunter. Please."

Hunter frowned, but put the earpiece in. "Okay, now what-"

"Hast thou considered my servant Zacharia Hunter, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"

Hunter's blood ran cold. "Lucas."

"Hello, Hunter. Did you miss me?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What the hell are you up to, Lucas?"

"Hang on, I'm not finished- ahem. Then Satan answered the Lord-"

"Look, can we skip this? I've got an interrogation to finish."

"Oh, very well, though I rather like it. I'll go to the relevant part. See, Satan asks for permission to test Job's faith, and the Lord says-"

"Really, Lucas?"

"He _says_ , Hunter, behold- I like that word, don't you?- behold, all that he hath is in thy power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Well," said Lucas smugly in his ear. "It turns out that you don't actually have to ask permission from God before you ruin someone's life.

"You can just go ahead and _do_ it." His voice turned thoughtful. "Not the intended lesson, I suspect, but I've never been much of a biblical scholar."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "So this was all you? Why, you were bored with cutting up people?"

"You have to ask, Hunter? You ruined years of work, years of experimentation! I was on the verge of solving so many problems- even a key component of immortality! Do you have any idea what you've done!" Lucas's voice rose, and he could hear a noise in the background, as if Lucas was pounding a fist on something.

Hunter winced at the feedback in the ear, a high-pitched whine. "Hey, tone it down a little."

"Turns out there's no God, Hunter. Not for you, at least. But for the purposes of this little story, there is a Satan, and you've gone and made him very, very angry."

"Wow, did you practice that little speech, or did it just come to you now?"

There was a pause. "Do you know what happened to Job?"

"I suspect you're going to tell me."

"He lost everything. He lost his wealth, his sheep- very important in that time period, I'm given to understand- his house. And his family. So here's the first bit of good news, Hunter. You don't have to worry about child support anymore."

Hunter felt a chill run through him. "You're lying."

"Hart? Show him the pictures."

The ram reached into his briefcase and passed a folder to Hunter. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice cracking. "He has my family-"

"And I was able to use those same pictures to convince him that I would do what I said. I do like efficiency. Look at them closely, Hunter."

Hunter closed his eyes. He opened them and flipped open the folder. He closed it again and leaned back, feeling numb. "I'm going to kill you, Lucas."

"Did you really look all that closely, Hunter? Because I want you to understand where I'm coming from and what I'm capable of."

"I know exactly what you're capable of," said Hunter calmly. He felt distant, as if the words were coming from someone else's mouth. "Do you know what I'm capable of?"

"Oh, yes. How do you think I played you so well, Hunter?" He could hear the triumph in Lucas's voice. "I've spent years studying the human brain- and now quite some time studying the mammal brain, as it turns out. So here's the deal. I'm not quite finished with you yet, Hunter. Do you know what happened to Job, Hunter? Even his friends betrayed him. They told him to give up, to stop fighting, and lay down and die.

"I'm going to go one better. I'm going to get them to kill you. And you're going to help me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"The first step is to tell them you killed Jaeger- that name means hunter in a long-dead language, by the way, my little joke- and that cop."

"Why- you already killed my family- why should I-"

"Because there's a bomb in the building. Picture, Hart." The ram pulled out another photograph and passed it to Hunter.

"Could be anywhere," he said.

He could almost hear Lucas roll his eyes. "Come on, Hunter, by now you've figured out I have an agent in the building. I've got very powerful friends, and I'm very valuable to them- immortality has that effect on people, especially ones in government, it seems. The bomb is there."

"So what makes you think I care anymore-"

"Because everyone you've got left is here in this building, Hunter, and I can make it all go away."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter sat down at the interrogation table. "I'm ready."

"Make it look real, Hart," said Lucas warningly in their ears.

"Let it be noted that I advised my client against this course of action," said Hart quickly.

"Good," approved Lucas.

"Mr. Hunter, just to be clear, you still understand your rights and wish to make a statement?" asked Stripely warily.

"Yes."

"He does." Hart kept his face neutral.

"Well," said Stripely. "Now, you say-"

"I killed Jaeger," said Hunter. It was almost true. He wanted to kill him. He was going to kill him.

If he could figure out how.

Stripely blinked in surprise. "You killed Dr. Jaeger."

"And Officer Seeko." Hunter sagged in his chair.

Lucas's voice again. "Good reading. A little dry, but I'm really feeling a sense of honesty. Shame we didn't have time for rehearsal, though. Now, tell him this-"

"I set off a truck bomb to create a distraction, then snuck in through a delivery entrance to the lobby. I used the stairs to get to Jaeger's room and shot him in the- in the chest. Oh, and I hit him a bunch of times to knock him out."

"And Officer Seeko?"

Hunter started to speak and stopped. To say he killed a cop- to say it like they would believe it-

"Hunter, start talking." Lucas's voice rose. "Tell them you killed that cop. Hunter!" he shouted as he continued to hesitate. Hunter winced as the feedback filled his ear and grabbed at his head in pain. "You're giving me a headache," he said to Lucas.

"Hunter," said Hart warningly.

"Tell them!"

"Seeko caught me on the way out. I wasn't trying to kill him- I didn't think an eleven millimeter pistol could kill a hippo. I guess I figured wrong."

As he waited for the statement, he could hear Lucas chuckling. "Oh, bravo! Bravo indeed! I'd throw you a rose, but well- still, I think we can do even better for an encore."

The door flew open. Judy, distraught, wide eyes full of tears stared at him accusingly."How could you!"

Hunter shot up out of his seat, barely noticing the nervous reaction of the detective across from him.

"You were my friend!" He stared at her. The bomb. He had to get her out of here.

"Oh, this is better than daytime television!" said Lucas cheerfully. "I wonder if she'll slap you."

There had to be something, anything he could do. He was not going to lose the only friends he had left.

"Sit down, Hunter-"

"I'm not saying one more goddamn thing until you get that crazy bitch out of here!" snarled Hunter. "I mean out of here completely! Out of the fucking building!" He looked at Hart. "You verify that she's gone, dammit! Or there will be no cooperation from me, you got that?" The last words were directed at Lucas.

"Oh, I suppose. Do what he says, Hart. Too bad. It was just getting interesting," said Lucas in bored tones.

The bunny took a step forward. "You murdering-"

"Get the hell out of here, Judy. And make sure Nick goes with you."

Nick appeared and dragged her from the building.

Hunter glared at the detective, fury in his voice."What kind of chickenshit investigation are you running here, Stripely?" What could be his last words to them, and- he looked at Hart. "I said verify she's out of the building, Hart."

The ram left.

"Let's just get this over with," said Hunter, the fury draining from him as he fell into his seat.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He signed the form as Hart walked back in.

His mind had been running over options. Write down that something was going on and show it to Stripely? Even if- by a miracle- Stripely believed him, even the least bit of reaction would tell Lucas what was going on. If Judy or Nick were here, maybe-

He sighed as the ram approached.

"I told you not to sign anything!" said Hart.

"Not bad, Hart. Just the right tone of shock and outrage. I guess lawyers learn to lie pretty well, huh?"

Hunter wished desperately that he would shut up.

"Oh, gosh, you want me to sign another one with you here?" snapped Hunter.

"Hey, that's actually a good idea," said Lucas. "That way you can get the gun I stashed in his briefcase and bust your way out of here."

Hunter blinked. "You're kidding."

"Who's kidding?" asked Stripely, confused by the apparent non-sequitur.

"No, no joke. Get the gun. I'll direct you from there. Gosh, this is fun, huh?"

Hunter shook his head, but realized two things. First, Lucas couldn't hear him shake his head. Second, he didn't really have a choice.

Hart's eyes had widened, but he only hesitated briefly before approaching the table. "I think there's a form in here-" He put the briefcase down and opened it.

Hunter picked up the gun- how had they hidden it from the search?- and Stripely stood up. "What-"

He raised the gun and pointed it at Stripely. "Don't move."

The zebra gaped. "What do you think you're going to do, Hunter? This building is full of cops!"

"They're mostly unarmed," said Lucas. "Tell him about the bomb. They'll clear the building."

"Mostly unarmed. And it won't be full long. There's a bomb in the building, in the-" he paused.

"In the sub-basement boiler room, Hunter. Do you need cue-cards or something?"

"In the sub-basement. The boiler room. Send someone to check it out." He shrugged. "I'll wait."

"Once again, I must point out that I am strongly advising my client against this-" Hart's voice came in a monotone.

"Shut up," said the zebra detective. He made a call. "Clawhauser. I need someone to check out the boiler room in the sub-basement."

There was a long pause as Stripely, eyeing his gun warily, continued speaking with the cheetah.

"Terra really is fascinating, do you know that, Hunter?"

Hunter glanced at the zebra, who was murmuring urgently into the phone. "Do tell," he muttered. The zebra didn't seem to hear.

"Somehow, our ancestors created a retrovirus that turned all types of mammals- a tremendously diverse group, you know- into sapient beings. I was _fascinated_. It took time to convince my handlers to let me come here, but the results- do you know that the Night Howler plant was apparently designed as a bio-weapon against the mammals of Zootopia? Probably when our ancestors were trying to wipe out their creations."

Hunter blinked. "That makes sense."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? I just had to test it on human subjects- pity they wouldn't let me acquire any for laboratory testing. Oddly, on humans it just initiates a sort of psychotic break. Permanent, I suspect, however, which does lend itself to some interesting possibilities. Oh, you weren't a target, by the way. I'm fairly certain the modifications made to your brain structure would neutralize the effect."

"Is this really-"

"Clear the building," snapped Stripely. "Evacuate now." He looked at Hunter. "You've still got nowhere to go, Hunter."

"Oh, you're just going to the roof, Hunter," said Lucas cheerfully.

"I'm not going far. Cuffs."

Hunter paw-cuffed the zebra.

"Take Hart with you," said Lucas. "I might still need him."

Obediently, Hunter cuffed the ram's paws in front of him. Stripely looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"Hostage," said Hunter. "Let's go."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As they raced down the hallway, Lucas continued nattering into his ear. Hunter was growing heartily sick of it. "Can you just kill me?"

"Almost there, Hunter. Come on, we're on a schedule. Tick tick."

Hart was moving slowly. Hunter pushed him to hurry him up. "Come on, we're on a schedule here."

"I'm moving as fast as I can with these cuffs on me," said Hart. "Was it really necessary to cuff me?"

"Hell if I know."

As they moved down the hallway, he suddenly caught sight of- "Tavi?"

"Oh, the mongoose. What joy! I hope she's here for the grand finale!" Lucas sounded ecstatic.

"Hunter!" shouted Tavi.

"There's a _bomb,_ Tavi, get the hell out of here!"

Judy replaced her in the doorway. He blinked at the gun she held. "Hunter, halt!"

The human pulled the ram in front of him, putting the gun to his head. "Don't shoot, Judy."

"Bonus points for improvisation!" Lucas said. "Oh, this is even better than I had hoped! Is the fox here too?"

"Let him go!"

Hunter kept edging forward, towards the stairwell. "Judy, get the hell away from here."

"Don't make me-"

"Shoot at her, Hunter."

"What?" shouted Hunter.

"Shoot at her!" shouted Lucas. Once again, the feedback rose.

Lucas swore. "We can cross a thousand light-years but we can't build a radio system that works."

"Hunter! You're- you're sick. You need help!"

Hunter spotted Nick, also armed. "Hunter, just listen to her. This isn't going to work."

"Shoot at them, Hunter."

"Like hell!" Hunter stopped. "You can't make me-"

"Tick, tick, Hunter. What did I do with that detonator? Sure it was around here- oh, here it is. Big red button and all."

Hunter set his face and ran, pulling the ram with him.

"Shoot at her! Pushing the button-"

Hunter snarled and pointed the gun backward, taking care to aim it at the ceiling. He yanked the trigger as he dashed up the stairs.

Hart stumbled, but followed as they took the stairs as fast as they could.

"I can hear your heart racing, Hunter. Getting kind of old for this, aren't you?"

"Shut-" Hunter wheezed. "Shut up."

"Oh, come, don't you want to know why I was having- how should I put it?- mentally abnormal mammals kidnapped? Well, first of all I've always been interested in the mentally abnormal-"

"Now there's a surprise. Physician, know theyself?"

"It's _heal_ thyself, Hunter. Anyway, I did manage to get a few subjects that were normal, and found their brains were shockingly similar. So I decided to look into the abnormal, and do you know what I found?"

"Apparently not a conscience." Hunter glanced at the signs on the landing as he rounded the corner.

"They were different, but not in a way consistent with human neuropathology. Sometimes, by seeing all the ways things can go wrong, you can figure out how to put them right." Hunter realized he was out of steps.

"Ah, speaking of which. It's time to put things right. Onto the roof, Hunter." Lucas's voice took on a somber tone. "I promise, it will all be over soon."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter blinked as he threw the door to the roof open and came into the bright sunlight.

He stared at the grassy field, the sun shining down on the rooftop.

"Take a good, long look, Hunter. It's going to be your last."

"Why?" asked Hunter quietly. "Why go to all this trouble for me?"

"You were a puzzle to me, Hunter. Everyone has their price. All you had to do was look the other way- my backers had ensured that everyone else was. Eventually, I would have moved on, my research completed, and all you would have been missing was a few dozen street people that no one would ever miss." Lucas paused. "But you didn't. And you ensured that I had to go through that farce of a trial. Do you know, for a while I thought they might actually execute me? I wanted you to feel that, Hunter, to know that time has run out. That there's no escape." A cheerful note entered his tone. "And I could try a more practical sort of psychology. See just how far I could make the puppet dance. Keep moving."

With the ram behind him, Hunter kept going.

"Stop here, Hunter. That should do."

"I guess this is it, then," He looked up at the sky.

"I suppose it is. Let's see how long it takes your friends to shoot you. To give up on you. To just, as they told Job, curse God- and die."

He heard Judy behind him."What's the plan, Hunter?"

He looked at her. "Judy." There was no way out. He tried to think, to make a plan. There had to be something he could do.

"Is there supposed to be a skimmer coming to pick you up? Or were you planning on stealing that flying tank?" Judy and Nick moved out, and he watched them with the vague disinterest of someone waiting to- wait, what?

"The flying what?" He turned and his eyes went wide as he saw the tank. "Why the hell is there a tank on the roof?"

"Wow. It's amazing how the mind can latch onto the most ridiculous things," said Lucas dryly. "Forget the damn tank. You're about to _die._ "

"Just put down the gun, Zach," said Nick. "Please."

"I can't," said Hunter. "You're going to have to shoot me."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Hunter." The pain in her voice broke his heart. He tried to raise the gun, but- he couldn't do it.

"Come on, Hunter. I guess they still wuv you, huh? How adorable. It's time to make yourself a threat. Shoot, oh, Hart."

The ram's eyes widened.

"No," said Hunter, shaking his head.

"Hart, listen carefully. If he doesn't shoot you, I'm going to kill your family. It's up to you to convince him. Shoot him, Hunter."

The human hesitated. He saw Hart's eyes flick wildly from side to side. He saw when Hart gave up any chance of escape. He saw his acceptance.

"Just do it, Hunter," said Hart. He looked at Hunter, and Hunter saw resignation- and forgiveness. "You have to give up sometime."

Hunter stared at him.

"I have the kid- a literal kid, isn't that amusing- right here. Hand me that gun," Lucas's voice seemed to be directed at someone else for a moment. Then, "I'm going to count to three."

"One. Two."

Hart looked imploringly at Hunter. Cursing himself, Hunter spun and fired.

Hart's corpse hit the ground.

"Oh, my God," said Nick. "Hunter-"

The human stood, horror, rage, and fear churning his stomach. "You still haven't shot me," he said to Nick and Judy. Couldn't they just get this over with?

"Zach, for God's sake-"

"Hunter. We were friends," Judy's voice was unsteady. "Please, don't make me do this."

Hunter shook his head. "Never hesitate to take the shot, Judy."

So fast he could barely see him move, Nick shot towards him. He spun, but felt the fox's teeth latch onto his calf. He reacted instantly, grabbing Nick by the scruff of the neck. What the hell was he doing?

He pulled Nick off, grimacing as the fox's fangs tore a chunk out of his calf. As carefully as he could, he threw the fox away from him. He turned back to Judy. What did he have to do to end this? "You know what's going to stop me," he told Judy.

"Just put the gun down," she shouted. "Just-"

"This is getting ridiculous," said Lucas. "Getting bored now. You know what would liven things up? A big boom!"

He raised his gun and pointed it her.

"Hmm, you think that might work?"

"Zach!"

"Apparently not. Get her to shoot you, Hunter, or I'll turn all of you into a mushroom cloud. I really don't want to- that's going to be a lot harder to explain- but I will."

Hunter wanted to snarl at Judy, who even with a gun pointed at her, _would not take the shot_.

"Tick, tick, Hunter."

How could he-

She took a step forward.

"Stop, Judy." Hunter kept the gun on her. "Don't come any closer."

"Zach, listen- what's going on? This doesn't make any sense-"

"Oh, come on, the suspense is killing me. Shoot at her, Hunter." Lucas's voice rose. "Shoot!"

The connection dissolved into feedback, and he saw Judy hesitate as he winced from the sudden pain.

He needed her to-

She wouldn't protect herself- at least, not against him.

Who would she protect?

He turned and aimed at Nick, who stared at him in shock.

Shots rang out and Hunter felt multiple hits punch into him. He staggered, then fell. His hand shaking, he reached into his shirt and felt-

He looked at his bloody hand. Bloody from a wound that was far from penetrating, though enough to break the skin.

He looked at the bullet that had bounced off his body, lying on the grass. The one that had been fired from far too close to reach a lethal velocity.

He looked at Judy as she approached from her firing position a couple of meters away, her gun steady.

"You did the right thing," he whispered.

He fell forward and lay still.

And hoped like hell that Lucas bought it.

"And the Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away," said Lucas's voice in his ear. "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Hunter smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's Note: So I hope those last two chapters were interesting. From the comments and reviews, it seems like people enjoyed them._

 _Now it's time for the heroes to start taking care of business, though. Pathos is done, it's all about catharsis. Hope you enjoy._

The small office building had been abandoned for so long that the owner had nearly despaired of leasing it. As a result, he had been more than happy to lease it to the strange humans without asking any questions. If he wondered why a group of "businessmen" with fairly short visas wanted an office, especially one that was in a very poor location near the outskirts of the Rainforest District, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Agent Wills- not his real name, of course, but he was used to "living his cover"- watched with disapproval as Dr. "Jaeger" sat back from the radio console with a pleased expression on his face. Lucas- for that was his real name- watched the visual feed from the ZPD headquarters rooftop as a fox, a rabbit, and a- what the hell was that, some kind of weasel?- converged on the fallen human.

"Well, now I see why engineers get so excited when they launch a new spacecraft," said Lucas cheerfully. "Nothing quite like a little practical application of the sciences to get the blood flowing!"

Wills exchanged a look with his partner, Agent Turoi. "Doctor, are we quite finished? We went along with this elaborate little plan because it should help cover up the operation, not just so you can get revenge on some poor cop who happened to cross paths with you."

"You went along with my plan because all the important information the government needs is in here," said Lucas, tapping his forehead. "Which is where it's going to stay, in case my status of 'asset' goes to 'liability'- don't tell me the thought hasn't crossed your narrow little mind."

The MSI agent kept his expression bland. "Be that as it may, the operation is completed. Do you have all the data you need?"

Lucas spun his chair from the comms console to face Wills. "I think so. I assume you want permission to start, oh, what's the silly euphemism you use? Ah. Liquidate. Yes, you can liquidate the remaining subjects at your leisure."

Wills nodded. "We'll start breaking down the apparatus. We should be ready to extract in about half an hour."

Lucas swiveled back to the comms console and waved a hand languidly. "Fine, fine. I'll be right here."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Clawhauser stared up at the roof of ZPD headquarters, along with a fairly large crowd who had gathered near the building. Mammals- of every species- having a certain percentage of morons among them, quite a few officers were busy keeping the more curious onlookers from moving closer to the building. However, even they had looked up when they heard the shots.

Until another sound caught his attention. He turned as a plain, unmarked white van- plain except for the police-style light bar mounted on the roof- screeched down the street.

A uniformed ocelot poked his head out. "Clear the way to the building!" he shouted.

Chief Bogo pushed his way through the crowd, Clawhauser following in his wake. "Scruggs? Where were you?"

"Getting the jammer! That bomb is activated by some sort of transmission- if I can get this thing close I can jam it and disarm the bomb."

Clawhauser frowned. "I thought you had run off."

Scruggs rolled his eyes. "We had it stored in an off-site garage. I had to go get it."

"Why was it stored in an off-site garage."

"Because someone, not naming any names such as 'Captain J. Foremam,' could not get through his thick skull that just because we're the Bomb Squad doesn't mean we have any actual explosives. So it was stored in an off-site garage in case it exploded. Apparently."

Bogo gave a baleful stare at a surprised captain nearby, who immediately faded back into the crowd. He then looked at the officers doing crowd control. "You heard the ocelot. Let him through!"

Clawhauser was about to lend his considerable bulk to the effort when Scruggs gestured at him. "Benjamin! Come on with me."

"What?"

"You found the bomb- I've got the photos you sent me on your cellphone, but you may spot something I missed. And I need an assistant."

"Yeah, but- that's a bomb."

"And I'm the Bomb Squad. I _live_ for this."

"Okay, sure, but for how long?"

"Get in the damn van, Ben!"

Reluctantly, the cheetah climbed into the van as Scruggs raced forward. He pulled out his cellphone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick stared in horror as Hunter collapsed to the ground. Judy rushed to him.

"Oh, my God," said Nick, ignoring the pain from what he suspected was a minor sprain. "Oh, God, Judy-"

"He's alive," said Judy quietly. Tavi, with a shell-shocked expression, blinked as she approached and heard the words.

"He's-" Nick blinked.

"I moved to close range before I fired. Non-lethal range- I didn't load the warhead rounds."

"But-"

"I heard feedback a couple of times- like from a radio. I think someone's talking to him, making him do these things."

Nick stared, then thought about it as he got to his feet. "Could be." He nodded as the pieces clicked into place. "He tried to get us out of the building because of the bomb."

She nodded. "He called me Judy."

"Huh?"

"He calls me Hopps when he's angry at me."

Tavi looked from one to the other, then back at Hunter. "If he's not- why he's still lying there?"

Judy suppressed the urge to look around. "Maybe someone's watching us."

All three turned and moved towards Hunter's still form.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter stared up at the sky, thinking.

There was still a bomb.

He assumed Lucas had some kind of surveillance on the roof- it was the most obvious reason for him to have made him come up here. Had Judy figured it out? He was sure hitting him from a non-lethal range was deliberate- but was it because she knew about the earbud, or was it due to her still not having the ability to kill?

He heard footsteps beside him, and carefully remained still.

The anxious faces of Nick, Judy, and Tavi appeared in his field of vision. He blinked when he saw the tears in their eyes. He was still numb and cold inside.

He held onto that. He was going to need it for what was coming.

Judy had her notebook out. Carefully, shielding it from outside view with her body, she held it up.

 _Radio transmitter? In ear?_

Hunter couldn't help it. He smiled at her.

Clever bunny.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick's phone rang and he hastily backed away, his heart still hammering from the relief he felt when he saw his friend smile. He moved far enough away that his conversation should be private as Judy continued writing messages to Hunter. "Wilde," he answered.

"It's Clawhauser. Are you two still in the building? I thought I heard gunshots-"

"It's a long story, but yes. Look, is there any word on the bomb?"

"Scruggs is working on it. He's going to block all transmissions using some sort of jammer- so I won't be able to contact you in a minute. He says he can disarm the bomb after that pretty easily."

Nick sighed in relief. "Okay. Call me back as soon as the bomb's disarmed."

"Will do."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Scruggs parked the van. "Okay, this should be close enough to jam any signals," he said. He jumped out of the van as Clawhauser followed more slowly.

"Don't they teach you not to use terms like 'close enough' in Bomb School?"

The ocelot chuckled as he yanked open the back door of the van and jumped inside. "Oh, relax. This thing has a near one hundred percent reliability rating."

"There you go again. _Near_ one hundred percent?"

"For someone who was calling me on a cellphone right next to a live bomb, you're pretty nervous."

"I didn't know it was a bomb! Ignorance is bliss!"

Scruggs cocked his head at him. "Oh? Would you really rather I be _ignorant_ right now?"

"Point," conceded the cheetah.

"Okay," said Scruggs, making a few adjustments on the massive device which took up roughly half the van's cargo space. "I think this should do it." He prepared to flip a switch.

"Hey, wait a minute. What if it's a dead man switch? Like, if we interrupt the signal that sets off the bomb."

Scruggs hesitated. "No, that'd be stupid. Then the bomb would go off for any little technical glitch." He nodded as if trying to convince himself. "Yeah."

Clawhauser paused, then nodded. "Oh, okay. That makes sense." He waited. "Aren't you going to flip the switch?"

Scruggs kept staring at the device, his paw still on the switch.

"Scruggs?"

He turned to Clawhauser. "Dammit, Clawhauser!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy stood in the crowd, watching impatiently. She glanced at her watch. The gunshots had gone off a good five minutes ago.

Her phone rang. She checked it and turned casually away from Hirsch, who was scanning the crowd.

"Koroliy," she said.

"Prometheus Four here. We're go for extract. Disengage and rendevous."

"Acknowledged."

She hung up and, with a quick look around, walked purposefully away.

Behind her, Hirsch frowned at her retreating back.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Bomb real?_ Judy held up the notebook again.

Hunter nodded.

 _Take out earbud?_

After a moment of thought, Hunter shrugged.

She reached down and found the earpiece. She pulled it out and tossed it as far away as she could without making the movement obvious.

Hunter stared up at her. "Holy crap, Judy, really?"

"You shrugged! That means 'might as well'!"

"No, that meant I don't know!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

Nick returned, holding up his cell phone. "Hopefully it won't matter now."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Scruggs screwed his eyes shut and flipped the switch. After a long moment, he relaxed. "See?" he said to Clawhauser. "Told you."

"If you were so confident, why'd you hesitate so long?"

"Shut up."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lucas frowned as the feed abruptly cut into static. "What?"

Turoi leaned over his shoulder, then gave a shrug. "We work for the government."

"So?" asked Lucas, peevishly, as he tapped at a few buttons to try and re-establish the connection.

"Ever hear the phrase 'lowest bidder'?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Clawhauser panted- only partially from exertion- as he and Scruggs ran into the boiler room.

The ocelot cast a practiced eye over the wiring. "Okay, simple enough. Now, just to be clear, did you see anything else like this anywhere in the room?" He pointed to an unassuming black box, which was wired to the various detonators embedded in the plastic explosive all around the room.

The cheetah leaned forward to look at it, then glanced around. "No, that's the only one."

"Okay. Easy. Now that the signal's cut, we just have to cut the wires leading to the main receiver."

"And that will disarm it?"

"I'm, like, ninety percent sure."

Clawhauser stared at him. "Is that high enough?"

"It's going to have to be- Nick and Judy are still in the building, and if they take down Hunter- well, what do you think he'll do?"

"Right. Okay." Clawhauser hesitated. "So can I go?'

"No. I might need help with something." Scruggs took a set of wire cutters from his pocket. "Okay, here goes-"

"What if they wired the bomb to go off if someone cuts the wires?"

Scruggs stopped. "No, because then if the wires came out they would go off accidentally. And this was clearly designed to be set off only on purpose."

"Yeah, but it's not like maintenance comes in here often. In fact, they must have known that because they set the bomb in here- whoever it was."

Scruggs was frozen in place, wirecutters around the wire leading to the receiver. He looked at Clawhauser.

"You are the worst assistant ever."

"Hey, I didn't exactly volunteer."

The ocelot sighed and turned back to the receiver. "I need a new T-shirt. It'll say 'Do not undermine the confidence of the bomb technician'."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy pulled open the door of her car and was about to get in when she heard footsteps behind her. Casually drawing a gun and keeping it hidden behind the door, she looked up.

Hirsch walked towards her, watching her suspiciously. "Where are you going?"

She shrugged. "No sense in staying around here, is there? If there is a bomb and it goes off, I'd rather be far away in any case."

"We need to stick around. This whole thing is fishy."

Koroliy swore inwardly. "Hunter clearly finally lost it, Gregory. That's all there is to it."

"And planted a bomb? Let's think this through, shall we? He was suspended from the force after attacking Jaeger, right? Had to be a crime of passion, whether because of insanity or some other reason. Despite being under suspension, he somehow manages to sneak in and wire a bomb, that isn't found until he's arrested, then arranges for a lawyer to, what, bring him a gun? And the gun- he would have had to make that fake well ahead of time." Hirsch shook his head. "It makes no sense." He cocked his head, changing his stance slightly. "Unless he had help on the inside."

"Okay, fine, maybe that rookie of his- Taki or whatever. Everyone knows she's carrying a torch for him." Koroliy tightened her grip on the pistol.

"Uh-huh. I don't see a rookie being able to pull off anything this sophisticated." He continued to study her. "So I thought about who could. I could, but I know it wasn't me. Hey, Koroliy? What was it you used to do in the military?"

"Gregory-"

"Special Ops, wasn't it? I wonder what we'll find when we check your cell phone." He took a step closer. "Step away from the car, Anna."

She sighed. "You've got one thing wrong, at least."

He eyed her. "What's that?"

"It's not what I used to do in the military." She raised the gun, Hirsch's eyes going wide as he took a stumbling step back. "It's what I still do."

She fired.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Scruggs took a deep breath and cut the wire.

Behind them, a pipe let out a loud blast of steam.

Clawhauser looked down at Scruggs, who was cowering on the floor with his paws covering his head. "Would that have helped if the bomb went off?"

The ocelot opened one eye and glared at him. "Shut up."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo was walking through the crowd, trying- and failing- to keep an eye on everything at once. He spotted media vans setting up on the outskirts of the scene. Sighing, he started walking towards them. He'd have to give a short statement of some kind, something bland but seemingly informative, something that gave the impression that he had some clue of what the _hell_ was going on-

Two gunshots rang out. His head snapped around as dozens of mammals screamed in terror.

By some fluke of the crowd's movement, he had a clear view as Hirsch staggered and fell, and Koroliy slammed her car door shut and took off.

Part of being a cop was being able to react instantly, despite being in shock and frequently knowing only a small fraction of what was needed. The trick was to note the immediate threat or violation and respond appropriately.

Bogo watched someone gun down a cop. He didn't know why, but-

The appropriate reaction was clear.

"Stop that car!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy barely heard the water buffalo's bellow as she shot down the road. She dialed her cell phone, swore when it showed no signal. "The hell-"

As she moved further away, bars appeared. She dialed again.

"This is Prometheus Four."

"This is One. We're blown. I'm headed to you. Step up the extract."

She looked in her rear-view mirror as she spotted the lights out of the corner of her eye.

"Better get ready. This might get hot."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo saw Scruggs and Clawhauser, looking drained, come out of the building. "Is that bomb disarmed?" he demanded.

Scruggs hesitated. "I'm about, um, eighty to ninety percent sure-"

"Scruggs!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then shut off that jammer. I need comms and I need them now."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lucas jumped up when the feed came back on-line. "Finally!"

He stared.

Hunter was standing, though obviously in pain.

He was alive.

An unfamiliar feeling went through Lucas as he saw Hunter look up, probably inadvertently, directly at the hidden camera. Hunter's face was calm, focused, and even through the video Lucas could feel the cold rage beneath the seeming placidity of his expression.

A surge of fear shot through him. He forced it down with an effort. "This- how can he be alive?" He tapped a button, frowned at the feed. Tapped it again. "The bomb's not going off, either."

Turoi turned to look at him. "What?"

"Hunter! He's alive."

The MSI agent moved closer, looked at the screen. He glared at Lucas. "Dammit. So much for your 'applied psychology'. He can blow the whole operation!"

"No." Lucas sat down at the console. "We still have the contingency plan."

Turoi's eyes went wide with shock. "What? No! There are civilians all around the building!"

Lucas ignored him, bringing up a program.

"Lucas, stop."

The program loaded. A green "Execute" button lit up.

"Lucas!" Turoi drew his gun. "Step away from the console!"

The scientist turned to look at him. "Or what?"

In answer, Turoi raised his gun.

Lucas just shook his head. "All the important parts of my research are in my brain, Turoi. The whole reason for this operation. An important- perhaps the most important- step on the way to immortality." He smiled slightly. "How do you think your superiors will react if you put a bullet through it?"

Wills stepped into the room. "What's going on here?" he asked coldly, looking around.

"He wants to activate the contingency," said Turoi, not lowering his gun.

"What? Why?"

"Because Hunter survived. Sir-"

Wills closed his eyes, opened them after taking a deep breath. "Let him."

"Sir, there are large numbers of civilians all around the ZPD headquarters. There won't be any way to stop it once we-"

"Mission first, Turoi." Wills shook his head. "Lucas, carry on. Turoi, get locked and loaded. Koroliy is inbound and there are hostiles enroute. This extraction will be hot."

With a triumphant air, Lucas stabbed the "Execute" button.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter had finally stood up, wincing. "I think you broke a rib, Judy."

"Better than killing you."

"True."

Nick got off the phone with Clawhauser. "Bomb's disarmed."

Hunter nodded. "Okay. We've just got to get to wherever Lucas is, then. Any ideas?"

Nick and Tavi shook their heads, but Judy was looking at her cellphone. They all stared at her.

"Judy, is now really the time to be checking your Muzzlebook profile?"

She seemed oblivious to the sarcasm. "I just got a message. From Mr. Big. I think we might have a good address for the bad guys."

"Outstanding." Hunter looked around. "Now, how are we-"

Behind them, there was a sudden roar. They all turned.

The hulking shape of the King Cobra Light Tank raised off the ground, the engines spooling up with a high-pitched whine. "Fully autonomous mode engaged," a computerized voice said. Two side mounted guns swiveled around. "Weapons free."

They pointed at the mammals who were staring in shock. "Hostiles identified."

"Oh, that's just not fair," said Hunter wearily.

 _Author's Note: There's a fair amount of artistic license regarding bomb technician stuff here, because I needed someone to go with Scruggs for the humor part of it. Hopefully if there are any people who are trained in this sort of thing reading they'll forgive me for that._

 _Sorry about the cliffhanger- I'll try to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible, though it might be a day or two. Still have a fair number of action scenes to go, along with the showdown. Stay tuned._


	20. Chapter 20

Koroliy had years of training, including- as part of a program for potential service on a VIP protective detail- an extensive Pursuit and Evasion driving course. The Zootopia PD was a generally efficient department, but the relatively small degree of crime in the city meant they had less overall experience than many human departments did with vehicle chases. On the other hand, they had lots of experience dealing with Zootopia's rather peculiar traffic conditions.

Koroliy swerved again to avoid an elephant-sized truck that seemed to appear out of nowhere, cursing as she realized she had missed the turn she needed to take to the safehouse. The pursuing ZPD cruisers, lights flashing and sirens wailing, easily avoided the startled elephant driver and began to catch up.

She risked a glance back and then, more or less in desperation, fired her gun backwards out of the window. The ZPD officers barely seemed to notice, though by sheer luck one slowed as a bullet struck its hood.

"Prometheus one to four, how are we on extract?" she shouted at her cell phone.

"There's been a slight delay. No update yet on ETA."

"I'm having trouble losing the pursuit," said Koroliy. She finally was able to make the turn she needed, several cars slamming on their brakes as she whipped in front of them. "Let's get a reception committee prepped."

"Acknowledged."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter stared at the tank as it spun slightly, like a dog questing for a scent. "Okay, there's no way anyone actually armed that thing, so we just have to keep from getting run over-"

"What about whoever stole your gun?" asked Nick nervously. "Or set up the bomb in the boiler room?"

Two small ports on either side of the grenade launcher affixed to the tank's bow opened, each revealing the squat barrel of a machine gun.

"Okay, plan."

"What is it?"

"Let me rephrase that," said Hunter. "Okay. Plan? Anyone?"

"Run!" shouted Judy.

All four mammals took off in different directions. Hunter saw the tank hesitate, first tracking Judy, then Nick, then finally settling on him. He ran, ducking sideways as the sound of automatic fire hammered his ears. Rounds impacted just behind him as he changed directions again, the tank slewing to compensate.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy made it to the relative cover of one of the turret-like outcroppings on the roof. They looked back to see Hunter, somehow avoiding the fire of the tank as the twin machine guns roared. "It's missing a lot," said Nick, panting slightly from his sprint.

"Can't depend on that forever," said Judy. "What do we do?"

Nick snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea." He dug out his cell phone and a small business card that read "Highfall Armory".

"Try and get Hunter's attention- he needs to get to cover with us," said Nick as he dialed a number.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bill Seymour was no stranger to bomb threats. Many of his customers led active and exciting lives, and so when ZPD was evacuated, he accepted the turn of events with complete equanimity. He simply walked out, walked down the street, and into the nearest bar. No use wasting a long break, after all.

As he waved for another gin and tonic his cell phone rang. He answered with the usual, somewhat forced cheer of a professional salesman. "Highfall Armory- you do the killin', we do the billin'. Bill Seymour here."

He instantly recognized the sound of automatic weapons fire in the background. "Seymour!" shouted a voice he didn't recognize. "Your tank's gone crazy!"

Seymour winced, but kept any worry out of his voice. "I'm sorry, but you probably need our IT department- they specialize in combat tech support services."

"Can I speak with them?"

"Um. Well."

"Then you'll have to do. How do we stop it?"

Seymour, like many sales reps at Highfall, had started as a lowly customer service representative in the IT department. He frantically tried to remember the flowchart they used. "Okay. Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

"Seriously?"

"Okay, maybe just off-"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You're attacked by a tank and you call _tech support_?" asked Judy incredulously.

"Have you got a better idea?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter made it to something approaching cover, a low hillock on the grassy roof. Unfortunately, the tank simply boosted its altitude until it had line of sight again. However, it gave him enough time to think of a way to try and stay alive at least a bit longer on the near-featureless rooftop.

As the tank began firing again, Hunter dashed toward Hart's body.

His injured ribs on fire, his calf- where Nick's teeth had done some unknown but apparently non-trivial amount of damage- shooting gouts of pain, he realized too late that he just wasn't going to be fast enough.

A lithe, gray figure suddenly appeared. Tavi, running on all fours, dashed past him. "Hunter, duck!" she shouted.

Hunter threw himself to the ground, rounds passing so close over him he could feel the shock of their passage.

The mongoose kept running, a gray blur across the grass. The tank, which had been firing at Hunter, suddenly reacted, twisting to track the small mammal as she ran desperately, jinking and weaving in instinctual patterns her distant ancestors had used to hunt and kill snakes millenia ago. Bullets struck all around her, the tank firing wildly to try and hit the small, evasive target.

Hunter pushed himself to his feet and tottered into a run.

Once again, the tank twisted to face him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"All right. You need to get inside the tank and input the over-ride password," said Seymour, sweating slightly. Some of the other patrons at the bar were giving him weird looks.

"Get inside the tank? The fully autonomous _robotic_ tank?"

"Um, we don't actually call it that," said Seymour. "There are, uh, acronym issues-"

"Seymour, I will hunt you down and gnaw off whichever leg you like most."

"This isn't working," said Judy, watching worriedly as the tank fired on Tavi.

"Okay, look, you might can breach the armor at a weak point."

"A weak point?"

"Yeah."

"It's a _tank_. It only has _less strong_ points."

Seymour thought carefully. "Well, that may not be entirely true in this case."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy misjudged her entry into the HQ parking lot slightly, meaning that instead of skidding to a stop, she slammed driver's side into the wall of the building.

Shaking her head to clear it, she scooted over and threw open the passenger door as ZPD cruisers screamed to halts around her. She paid them little notice as she dashed for the nearest entrance door to the unassuming office building.

A wolf- Barker- leapt out of the nearest patrol car. "Koroliy! Halt!" she shouted, raising her gun.

Almost instantly, gunfire opened up from the building, bullets striking the hood of Barker's car. The wolf ducked back, throwing herself to the ground.

More gunfire erupted, throwing the pursuing ZPD into confusion as they rushed for cover. Koroliy spotted a leopard officer go down out of the corner of her eye as she rushed into the building.

A sergeant wearing plain black BDU's with the Extra-territorial Special Operations patch on it nodded, not moving his eyes from the sights of his rifle he was using to cover the entrance. "Colonel."

She nodded back as she moved further inside. "Sergeant. That's some pretty poor shooting."

"I thought we should fire more warning shots, ma'am. It's not like we're at war-"

"You thought wrong, sergeant." Koroliy entered the stairwell. "All personnel are to shoot to kill. Some of these mammals are armed."

"Ma'am," acknowledged the soldier. She heard him calling out the new orders as she dashed up the stairs.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo pulled up, listening to the crackle of small arms fire a few blocks away. Clawhauser had hitched a ride- the chief wasn't sure why, exactly- and the cheetah wore a concerned expression as he too exited the vehicle.

Captain Tailwhisker, the lioness in charge of the SWAT detail, glanced up at the chief from her radio as he approached. She nodded, still talking into the mike. "Pull back and form a perimeter. With that kind of resistance we're not going to get through easily." She looked up. "Sir."

"What have we got, Tailwhisker?"

"Koroliy entered some kind of office building. We've got multiple armed suspects firing on our officers- at least one is down. We can't get to him to pull him out," she said in frustration.

Bogo felt a glow of anger, but kept calm. "All humans?"

"Not sure, but I think so."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy walked into the control center. She waved down two soldiers on guard detail. "As you were." She looked at Agent Wills. "Sitrep."

Wills nodded at her. "Hunter is still alive."

Koroliy swore, then looked at the monitor showing the feed from the ZPD roof. "I see you executed the contingency plan."

"I did," said Lucas, who was glaring angrily at the screen. He swiveled his chair to face Koroliy. "For what good it's doing! The damn thing keeps missing! I thought robotic tanks were supposed to be accurate."

Koroliy had been watching, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "It's confused by the smaller mammals- the program is designed to target humans, not creatures a fraction of their size. And I had to use an inferior type of ammunition to stock it. The ballistics are all wrong, and the guns themselves haven't been calibrated." She pointed at the screen. "The King Cobras have an advanced heuristics package, though. It will eventually calibrate itself."

"So Hunter will die?" asked Lucas eagerly.

She regarded him coldly. "In accordance with the mission parameters, yes." She looked back at the screen. "Shame about the others. The fox had potential as a pretty good operator. Not so much the bunny. No killer instinct."

"A common failing," said Lucas dismissively. "One that I do not share, of course."

Koroliy and Wills exchanged looks.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter dove at Hart's corpse, throwing himself down and rolling over it. As he did, he grasped the goat's shirt, so the body was shielding him from the oncoming tank.

Rounds smashed into the goat, and despite the makeshift shield he felt at least one hit his arm, the familiar burning pain of a gunshot wound. He gritted his teeth and tried to remember the rest of his plan.

Once again, Tavi shot back into his field of view, and the tank swiveled to face her.

"Dammit, rookie! You're going to get yourself killed!" Hunter shouted at her.

"This thing can't hit the broadside of a-"

The mongoose, racing across the grass as she ran, suddenly stumbled and went into a roll, ending up a limp heap on the field.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"The grenade launcher is a sort of bodge we put together at the last minute," explained Seymour. He had put the phone on speaker and was flipping through the schematics of the tank on his laptop. "The armor will be substantially weaker where we fused the launcher system into the hull."

The bar was silent, now, with a number of customers clustered curiously around the human. He paid them no attention.

"How weak? Can our guns damage it?"

Seymour shook his head, not realizing the fox couldn't see him. "No. It will take some sort of anti-tank rounds- but almost anything will do."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick ground his teeth. "Well, we seem to be fresh out of anti-tank weaponry, Seymour! You need to-"

Judy's ears had perked up. She pulled a magazine from her belt. "Actually, Nick-" she held up the magazine before slamming it into her carbine.

The fox stared at her, his eyes widening in realization. He looked to the field, where Tavi had just fallen. "Maybe I should take the shot, Carrots-"

Judy had already rushed out from their cover.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter pushed himself to his feet, his battered body screaming its displeasure. He grabbed Hart's briefcase.

The tank was turning back to him.

Hunter opened the briefcase and threw it- and the contents- into the air in front of the tank.

Papers shot out, fluttering chaotically in the breeze. The tank's reaction was remarkable. It spun, weapons tracking the flying papers. The guns spat, turning some of the paperwork into confetti, which further confused the targeting systems on the tank.

Hunter dashed to Tavi, scooping her up into his arms and took off towards Judy and Nick.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy, Wills, and Lucas stared open-mouthed as the tank continued frantically shooting up the flying paperwork.

"I cannot believe that worked," muttered Wills.

"Remind me not to rely on Highfall's targeting software ever again," replied Koroliy. She frowned. "What is the bunny doing?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy raised the carbine to her shoulder and aimed carefully at the tank, which appeared to finally be realizing the legal forms flying around were not a threat.

She sighted down the carbine and took a breath.

She fired. Sighted. Fired. Sighted-

The tank suddenly shuddered as the miniature anti-tank rounds smashed into it, throwing off gouts of liquified metal as the explosive charges in each round converted a small but noticeable amount of mass to plasma that burned through the weakened armor around the grenade launcher. Abruptly, the grenade launcher sagged as the metal fusing it to the hull melted. Judy shifted her aim, fired again, and a small hole into the tank's cockpit appeared as the gun assembly sagged further.

The tank whipped around to face her, and even as it fired she felt herself yanked back.

Nick dragged her back behind cover. "That was too close!"

Hunter threw himself behind the wall, still cradling Tavi. "Rookie." He shook the mongoose gently, scanning her for injury. "Tavi. Anila!"

She blinked. "Ow."

Hunter let out a long sigh. "Stupid over-eager rookies. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He put her down and she was able to stand, though a bit unsteadily. "One of those rounds came a bit too close and I fell and hit my head. I think. It happened kinda fast."

Nick ducked back as the tank fired again at them. "Any minute now that thing is going to come after us, and we're all out of cover."

Judy checked her carbine. "I have a few rounds of the anti-armor left."

Hunter stared at her. "The what?"

"It's a long story." She shook her head. "You guys run, I'll take the shot."

"Judy-" began Nick.

"Wait," said Seymour over the phone. "Can you get into the tank?"

"It's too small even for me," said Judy.

"That gun isn't powerful enough to stop a King Cobra," said Seymour. "You need to get inside-"

"It's not too small for me," said Tavi.

They all turned to look at her. "No," said Hunter. "We'll figure out something else."

"It's our best shot," argued the mongoose. "I'm the smallest, fastest, and most maneuverable." She looked up at Hunter. "I can do this."

The three other cops exchanged looks, then Hunter sighed. "Dammit."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The tank, almost comical in its caution, slowly slid sideways, the guns tracking the corner of the tower the cops were concealed behind.

Hunter poked his head out, then ducked back as a burst of fire shattered the already-bullet pocked wall. He looked back at Tavi. "You ready for this?"

In answer, she shot out from behind the wall.

Judy leaned around the corner and fired, distracting the tank as Tavi raced towards it. With a leap, the mongoose jumped on the armored prow of the vehicle and scrabbled her way up the hull. She cried out slightly as she squirmed through the still-hot, jagged hole, smelling the odor of singed fur and cloth.

She fell inside the cockpit. Looking around frantically, she spotted the main monitor described to her by Seymour. The tank lurched around her as she tapped at the touch screen.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The tank hesitated after losing track of the small mammal that had charged at it, but once the target disappeared the- by now very confused- AI decided the threat was gone. It slid sideways and lined up a shot on the fox, rabbit, and human.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well," said Hunter as he stared at the tank. "At least it knows it's been in a fight."

The tank's machine guns fired, walking the shots towards the exposed officers.

Hunter dove to the ground, pulling Judy and Nick down with him.

He felt a round impact next to his head and closed his eyes.

Then, there was a sudden silence.

He cracked an eye open.

The tank settled to the ground, engines whining as they slowly ground to a halt. After a moment, the hatch opened and Tavi poked her head out. She looked at Hunter and her eyes narrowed. "You don't need to look so surprised that I succeeded."

He shook his head. "You just had to wait until the last possible moment, didn't you?"

Nick pulled himself free from Hunter's grasp. "Dammit, Hunter, you got blood all over my uniform."

"Well, if someone hadn't bitten me-"

"And whose fault was that? You taste terrible by the way."

Hunter pulled himself to his feet and looked down at Nick. "I actually have no idea how to respond to that."

"Did it work?" asked Seymour through the cell phone anxiously. "I mean, I assume it did since you're trading jokes and not screaming."

Nick picked up the cell phone. "Yeah, it worked."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Seymour leaned back at his seat in the bar. "It worked," he said in relief.

The bar immediately erupted in cheers and applause. Surprised, he looked up. Then his salesman's instincts kicked in. "That's right, folks, Highfall Armory, where we are always cool under pressure. Smooth, skilled, and soothing. Check out our website today!"

The bartender leaned over. "Want a drink?"

Seymour nodded. "Oh, God, yes."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo's radio crackled. "Chief? It's Hopps."

He seized the radio. "Hopps! What's the status on Hunter? Is he in custody?"

"Negative. He's with us, though- he was framed, chief. Jaeger is alive. We'll explain everything- is that gunfire?"

"Koroliy shot Hirsch and fled the scene," explained Bogo. He watched as his officers carefully expanded the perimeter. "We've pursued her to a safehouse or something. There's a lot of bad guys with guns, here."

There was a pause. "Okay, she must have been the one to set the bomb, steal Hunter's gun, and arm the tank."

"Did you say _arm the tank_ ?"

"Yes, sir. We're on our way."

"By we you mean-"

"Me, Wilde, Hunter, and Tavi."

"Tavi resigned," said Bogo, confused.

"Yeah, but I think she's ready to come back."

"Okay, fine, whatever. But I hope one of you has a plan, because these crooks are heavily armed and have barricaded themselves in their position."

"Well, I don't know about a plan, but we do have a flying tank. Hopps out."

Bogo stared at the radio, then looked up at Clawhauser. "Tell me I misheard that."

"That Hunter is in a flying tank?" The cheetah shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, sir."

"Hunter is in a flying tank," repeated Bogo. "This is going to end well."

"And they said it was armed," added Clawhauser.

Bogo covered his eyes.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: My apologies for the delay. Had work stuff come up, ended up having to work late a fair amount._

 _I intend to finish this arc this weekend, and I don't anticipate any reason I won't. The next chapter should be pretty good- it'll probably be a fairly long one, too._

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _Oh, before I forget- so Captainprice79 wrote a few stories exploring Hunter/Tavi and Barker/Wu- you can find them under the good captain's FF account and also some at Archive of Our Own. Please check them out- I fear it won't be "canon" but I still get a kick out of someone else using my characters._

 _As I mentioned before- this is essentially an extended writing exercise for me- if you really enjoy the story and want to explore it in your own work, anyone is more than welcome to use the characters, setting, and so on as you like. I do ask that you throw a little credit my way, but otherwise anything goes. Collaborative writing intrigues me as an artistic medium and I would find it really interesting to see what other people do with (or to, I suppose) my characters and setting. I'm likely going to have something of an extended hiatus after I finish this story arc, as this was partially written to get through my writer's block on my own novel I'm working on. Since I've written nearly 100,000 words of what I hope is reasonable quality in the past two months or so, I feel I can safely say I'm through it._

 _I will figure out my exact plans by the end of this story arc, and will advise when I finish of what they are. Thanks so much for the support!_


	21. Chapter 21

"Okay," said Hunter, scanning the controls. "I got this."

"Do you actually think you can fly this thing?" asked Tavi skeptically.

Hunter shrugged. "Sure, it's not different than the FLPD skimmers they sometimes use for search and rescue, and I flew one of those once."

"They let you fly those insanely expensive skimmer things?"

The human paused. "Well, not exactly let me-"

"You stole a police skimmer," said Nick flatly.

"Borrowed. And it was urgent."

"Did you manage to at least land safely?" asked Judy, nervously, as Hunter pushed forward a control. They all felt the strange sensation of being pushed down slightly as the vehicle slowly rose in the air.

"Oh, yeah, not to worry," said Hunter. He put his hand on another control. "I mean, it took a few tries, but that fourth or fifth landing wasn't bad at all. Lost most of my momentum on the first few bounces."

"Bounces?" squeaked Tavi.

Hunter pushed forward the control and the tank shot forward.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy snarled into the mike. "What is taking so long?"

"Sorry, Prometheus One. There was some battle damage on the strike cruiser-"

"I am not looking for excuses. What is your current ETA?"

"Ten minutes, ma'am." A slight note of concern crept into the pilot's voice. "Is that small arms fire I hear? Is the LZ going to be hot?"

"The approach may be hot. We are defending against an assault by elements of local law enforcement. They have not yet launched a concerted attack, however. We can hold easily, though the longer the delay..."

"Understood. We're lighting up the drives now."

"Very well. Koroliy out." She turned to Lucas. "You need to move to the extraction zone."

The scientist was staring at the monitor, which now showed an empty field. "Hunter is still alive."

"That was, at most, a secondary objective. Your research is the primary objective."

He stood up and looked at her, his face twitching. "My cooperation was contingent-"

"He'll be coming here, Lucas. He'll be coming here to kill you," said Koroliy, stepping forward so the man had to step back. "In a _tank_ , by the way."

Lucas turned pale. "You must protect me."

"Which I will. By having you go to the extraction zone." She nodded to the two soldiers by the door. "Santiago and Knowles will go with you. Go. Now."

Lucas looked angry, but then glanced at the monitor again. He shuddered. "Very well." The two XSO troopers followed him out.

Turoi looked at Koroliy. "Any idea what to do about that tank?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "No grenade launcher or main gun, only machine guns. It will be annoying, but hardly dangerous. The most they can do is fire suppression, and if they try a close assault not even that. I merely wished to frighten that psychopathic bastard into following orders." She looked to Wills. "Have we liquidated the remaining subjects yet?"

"About to start. We were taking down the research computers and apparatus."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo assessed the situation.

The perimeter was set, though quite large- the humans proved to be deadly shots even at relatively long range. He was currently one of the closer mammals to the building, and that only by virtue of a massive building near the entrance which had been designed for elephants and was thus heavily built enough to withstand the powerful assault rifles wielded by the human soldiers.

His officers were either unable to approach, or- like Barker and a few others- pinned down with no way for anyone to get to them or for them to get away. At least one officer was down and believed to be badly injured if not dead.

And now he had heard more from Hopps, who had provided additional information as she, Wilde, Tavi, and Hunter sped their way in a flying tank.

He sighed. It wasn't fair. Some sort of human special ops team invades the city, and at the same time Hunter somehow manages to get ahold of a flying tank. He wasn't sure where the greater disaster potential lay.

"Okay, listen up," he said, finally. The command staff who had managed to gather in the building looked up expectantly. "I received word from Officer Hopps that the building likely contains hostages- specifically, mammals kidnapped over the past few weeks for experimentation. It is likely the humans intend to kill the hostages before leaving. So things just got urgent."

Tailwhisker shook her head. "Sir, they have good cover and there's no good approach point to the building. Our snipers come under fire as soon as they fire a shot, or even before. Short of artillery, I don't see a way to get into that building."

Bogo leaned his paws on the table in front of them, studying the building plans. "The north wall doesn't have many windows," he noted. "If we can get a team over there-"

"They'll be stuck. Few windows, no doors, and we can't breach." She sighed. "I really don't know what to do, sir."

"Well, figure out something," said Bogo grimly. "Because I am not letting them kill anyone else without at least trying."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hopps finished relaying the situation report- she had been on the phone with Clawhauser- to the rest of the group. Nick shook his head. "This isn't good."

Hunter was looking down at the encircled building. A few shots were fired once in a while, but the besieged humans appeared to be content to let the cops outside be so long as they weren't attacking. "We need to get in there," he said, musingly.

"Maybe we could land, use the tank as mobile cover," suggested Judy. "That would get us into the building."

"No," said Hunter. "They'll just back up and keep delaying. We need to move fast, disrupt them and catch them by surprise." He nodded. "I think it's time for the Kilo-Kilo-Mike-Foxtrot."

"The what?" asked Nick.

"KKMF?" said Judy. Her eyes narrowed. "Where have I heard that before?"

Hunter swerved the tank around to face the north wall of the building. "Get ready."

They looked at him. "You're going to land on the roof?" asked Tavi.

"Nope. They'll be expecting that."

"Then, on the ground?"

"They'll expect that, too."

"Okay, what is it that they _won't_ expect?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Corporal Pulaski continued to scan his sector. Several of the strange animals had moved towards the north wall where he was posted earlier, but being on the third floor and well-concealed, he had been able to shoot at them without even seeing any return fire. It was almost boring. Boring was good. Boring missions were generally successful missions.

He frowned as he suddenly heard a faint shrieking noise. Was one of the mammals he had wounded still alive? He scanned through his scope, noticing the shrieking growing louder. Seeing nothing, he lifted his head from his scope and only then realized the strange noise was coming from above.

He looked up.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Twenty-eight tons of heavily armored, anti-gravity driven battle tank shot towards the building. Hunter adjusted his aim slightly. "Told you landing wouldn't be a problem!"

"You're going to crash into the building!" shouted Nick. "How is that not a problem?"

"It's not a problem because it's the plan!" The building was close enough now that Hunter could see the horrified face of a sniper in the window he was aiming for staring at him.

With a thunderous boom, the tank smashed into the office building, sending out a massive gout of concrete dust and flying debris. The entire structure shook, hard enough that unprepared soldiers fell to the floor.

Hunter was thrown against his safety harness, then whipped side to side. He felt the tank strike more interior walls, ripping through them easily, before sliding to a rest. As soon as he was sure the tank was stopped, he unbuckled his belt and threw open the hatch, popping his head out.

Five stunned humans, wearing full battle rattle, stared in shock at him.

"KNOCK, KNOCK, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo stared at the building.

The entire third floor had all the windows smashed out, dust and debris still billowing out of the structure. Larger pieces had fallen across the entrance, partially blocking the fire lanes of the defenders inside. All gunfire ceased, from police and humans alike, as they stood, stunned by whatever the hell had just happened.

Except Bogo.

He had been sort of expecting something like this. He narrowed his eyes and reached for a massive gun case.

Opening it, he revealed the contents- a huge weapon that looked like a shotgun designed for a mammal much larger than a human. Which was reasonable, because that was more or less what it was.

The chief was a great believer in the principle that whatever he expected his officers to do, he should be able to do as well. So he had been trained with firearms, and like most officers had a custom-designed weapon made for himself.

Highfall Armory, when they had received the physical specifications of the chief, had been ecstatic. The design team could have simply designed an oversized carbine or rifle, with much the same power of a normal weapon but made larger to fit the chief's massive frame. But the opportunity to make a personal weapon that was far more powerful was a temptation too strong for the engineers at Highfall to resist.

"A weapon that you can use to clear is good," was the way the chief designer put it. "A weapon that you can use to breach is better. But the best weapon is one that can breach and clear, in _one shot_."

So was born the Highfall BFG. Which the design team assured everyone stood for Buffalo-Firable Gun.

Bogo had taken one look at it and told them to try again. He could not, he said angrily, imagine a situation that would require that much firepower in police work.

Faced with the unimaginable, Bogo picked up the shotgun.

"Tailwhisker, get your officers moving. Form up on me." He chambered a round.

"We're going in."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The XSO soldiers started to raise their guns.

The tank suddenly spun, and a burst of fire from the machine gun sponsons crackled over their heads.

As one, the soldiers threw down their weapons and put their hands on their heads.

Hunter jumped out and approached them, keeping them covered with his weapon. Behind him, Nick and Judy followed, their own weapons at the ready.

The sergeant in charge of the small group eyed the fox and the rabbit. "This is the most embarrassing surrender I can imagine."

Hunter rapidly disarmed him, and cuffed him using his own restraints. "It could be worse."

"How? I've just been captured by a fox and cute little bunny rabbit."

Hunter leaned in close. "You could have been killed by a fox and a bunny rabbit. And might still be. Don't call her cute."

The sergeant looked at Judy disdainfully, but then swallowed when he saw the look in her eye.

They rapidly finished securing all the soldiers. Hunter hefted one of their carbines, checking the magazine and chambering a round. He looked at the sergeant again. "Where are the test subjects?"

The sergeant said nothing.

Hunter shook his head. "Is this really what you signed up for, sergeant? Murdering innocent sapients on the whim of a psychopath?"

"Orders are orders," said the sergeant stolidly.

"Yeah? You know what he was doing to them? Cutting them open while they were still alive?" Hunter prodded the sergeant. "We're the good guys here, sergeant."

The noncom looked away.

"Second floor," said one of the other soldiers suddenly. "They're going to shoot them."

"Lock it up, private!" snarled the sergeant.

"Cram it up your ass, McCready!" snapped the private. "I've had it with this bullshit!" He looked at Hunter. "That nutjob Jaeger- what he did to them- you going to arrest him?"

Hunter shook his head. "No."

The private frowned.

"I'm going to kill him," said Hunter.

Judy shot him a worried look, and looked as if she wanted to say something. Nick caught her eye and shook his head.

The private nodded. "He's going to be going to the extraction point, on the roof."

"You're a good man-" Hunter checked the soldier's name tag "-Ukebwe. Maybe we can arrange asylum for you."

"Works for me. I've had it with this chickenshit outfit anyway."

Hunter looked at Nick and Judy. "You two go after the hostages. I'm going for Lucas."

"What about me?"

They looked back at the tank. "You stay here in the nice, safe armored vehicle," said Hunter.

"But-"

"You've got no weapon, Tavi. The human ones are way too big for you to use," pointed out Hunter.

"But you do have the tank," said Nick. "So you hold down the third floor. It'll keep our backs clear."

The mongoose hesitated, but then nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

"Good girl," said Hunter.

"I don't like you going alone," said Judy. "We should wait."

"Lucas is not getting away," said Hunter, in a tone of finality. "You two watch each other's back, okay?"

Without another word, he walked off through the ravaged offices.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

On the second floor, Koroliy staggered to her feet. "What the hell was that?"

"Dunno," said Wills, who was checking the exterior feeds. The monitor showed- from a camera on a building outside- a smoking hole smashed through the north face of the building, which looked to be centered on the third floor. "It looked like some kind of missile."

"No," said Koroliy. "Couldn't have been. The Terrans don't have anything like that."

"Well, something made an almighty hole in the building."

Koroliy moved to another monitor and tried to bring up the interior feeds on the third floor. Most were down, but she finally found one- tilted crazily to one side, but displaying a King Cobra light tank incongruously floating in what used to be a large conference room. She recognized a familiar figure walking through the dusty air.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Hunter."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo moved up, dashing from one piece of cover to another. He soon found himself next to Barker, who was watching the entrance carefully.

Two other wolves in SWAT gear followed him, along with Bohrs and Leo, Tailwhisker bringing up the rear. All took up firing positions. Bogo rested the shotgun along the roof of a police cruiser. He glanced at Barker. "You okay, Barker?"

"Locked and loaded, sir. How are we going to do this?"

In answer, Bogo took aim.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sergeant Yuller was not a happy soldier.

Things had been going well. He wasn't particularly keen on shooting the local cops, but for a long time it seemed like they wouldn't really have to.

Then some kind of missile had apparently hit the building.

His carefully planned firelanes were a mess. Debris had been scattered across the entrance, and shattered, flying glass had incapacitated one of his troops. When they tried to pull the injured soldier back to the evac zone on the roof, they had found the stairway blocked, as whatever had hit the building appeared to have struck the third floor.

His radio crackled. "Prometheus One to Papa Romeo Two Six."

He keyed the mike. "Two Six here."

"Hold your position. Be advised, there may be additional hostiles on your flank, coming from level three."

He swore. "Numbers?"

"Not many- two most likely. A fox and a rabbit. Probably headed to the area where the subjects are being held. Prometheus Two and Three will be enroute to liquidate the subjects- I need you to detach a fire team to intercept and neutralize the hostiles."

"Acknowledged." He waved to one of his fire team leaders. "Move up to the second floor. Turoi and Wills are going to the test area. Your team will provide security."

His soldiers nodded. "Got it, sergeant."

Yuller turned back to the entrance. Any minute now, he thought. The debris around the entrance provided an approach route. Any minute, the damn idiot cops would be trying to rush them.

"Weapons free," he said, unnecessarily.

Any minute now, they were going to have to slaughter a bunch of helpless animals.

He swore again.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bogo squeezed the trigger.

The BFG looked like a shotgun, but operated much more like a miniature tank or artillery main gun. The shell inside was struck by a firing pin, which set off a charge, which propelled the round out of the gun, and in that respect was much like any other gun.

But while Bogo had flechette rounds, which essentially were large shotgun rounds, he had selected the "BAC"- Breach And Clear- rounds developed by Highfall.

Once the round cleared the barrel, it shot towards the doors, where it struck.

The impact set off a secondary charge, this one inside the shell, which fragmented the round and sent a stream of high velocity shrapnel out in a rough cone shape from the initial impact point, which incidentally pulverized the main entrance doors.

What those fragments did to the interior, where the soldiers had been waiting, was indescribable. Even fragments that missed tended to richochet around to some extent, and while less deadly than a direct hit, a chunk of red-hot steel embedded in your skin would give even a hardened soldier something to think about.

To Bogo and the rest of the ZPD officers, it appeared the entrance and lobby of the office building simply exploded.

They stared, stunned, as the doors collapsed inward, shattered glass pattering down to the ground below.

Barker stood up and let loose a triumphant howl.

Immediately, the other two wolf officers, as well as a number on the perimeter, joined her.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Inside, Yuller snarled in pain as he yanked out a piece of shrapnel that had buried itself in his body armor, burning his skin. He glanced around, noting that most of his effectives were injured or dead, and the remainder looked shell-shocked.

Then he heard the howls. Despite his combat experience on some of the worst battlefields humanity had seen, even he felt a chill of fear as the sound yanked at some deeply buried ancestral memory.

Flashbangs flew into the room, and he was just a fraction of a second too late in shielding his eyes.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bohrs moved in, firing immediately at a crouched figure that was holding a hand to his head. The figure crumpled even as Leo, to his left, brought down another trooper.

A burst of return fire caught the lion and he went down, but immediately Tailwhisker and Barker opened up on the shooter. The human fell with a choked cry.

The entire engagement had lasted less than five seconds. Bogo leaned down to check on Leo, then grimaced. He stood up, hefting his oversized weapon. "Bohrs, Barker, move up to that side door. Tailwhisker, bring in another team. We need to clear this building."

Bohrs paused, looking down at Leo.

"Bohrs, move," said the chief, firmly but not unkindly.

The boar shook himself. "Yes, sir."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: Next chapter should be out later today._


	22. Chapter 22

Nick and Judy moved carefully down the stairs, padding silently as the building shook with another explosion.

"This is not the sort of police work I signed up for," muttered the fox.

"No, but it's the sort of police work we got right now," said Judy. She paused as they reached the door leading to the second floor. "This really isn't a good tactical situation."

There were bursts of fire downstairs. "You think?"

"It's just the two of us- we were trained in four-mammal teams."

"We're going to have to improvise- use our strengths."

"Like what?" asked Judy. "We're smaller, weaker, and less experienced than these guys."

Nick grinned. "No, we're smaller- meaning harder to hit- faster, and not experienced in fighting other humans or aliens that are nothing like us. Meaning we have no bad habits. So we've got the advantage."

Judy considered that. "So use our speed and size to our advantage."

"You got it."

Slowly, she smiled. "Clever fox."

He smiled back. "Dumb bunny. I'll go left."

Nick kicked the door open and they moved through.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wills and Turoi moved purposefully through the building.

"Status?" queried Koroliy, over the radio.

Wills rolled his eyes. "We're still enroute. There's some damage we've had to work around."

"The first floor has been breached."

The two MSI agents exchanged surprised looks. "What?"

"Apparently Highfall Armory got overly enthusiastic with the weapons design for Bogo," said Koroliy dryly. "Get in there, kill those subjects, and get out."

"Acknowledged."

Suddenly, there was a series of shots from up ahead. Both Turoi and Wills threw themselves against the walls, their submachine guns moving up to cover the hallway ahead. More gunfire erupted, then the shattering sound of weapons on full auto. When that ended, there were two more shots and then silence.

Warily, Turoi and Wills moved forward.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter ran up the stairs, his newly acquired rifle at the ready. He stopped as he realized he was on the top floor- apparently the stairwell didn't have roof access.

He quick-peeked out the door leading from the stairwell to the interior of the building, then moved around the corner into a large room- most likely a former cubicle farm, though with no cubicles it was just a vast empty space.

He paused and listened carefully. To his right, he heard the sounds of footsteps down a nearby hallway.

The hunter moved on, closing in on the hunted.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wills nearly fired as a figure staggered around the corner, but checked when he recognized an XSO specialist. "What happened? Where's your team?"

The soldier leaned against the wall, clutching a wound in his side. "We ran into resistance," he said, somewhat faintly.

Wills moved up to the corner. "What kind of resistance?"

"Don't go around that corner!" shouted the soldier. "They took out the entire fireteam." He shook his head, eyes staring, unfocused. "They're so fast!"

Wills and Turoi looked at one another uneasily. Carefully, Wills quick-peeked around the corner.

Only to see a gray-furred bunny rabbit moving up the corridor. When she spotted him, she ducked into a side office.

Wills dropped back behind the corner, looked at the soldier. "What, behind the rabbit?"

"It _is_ the rabbit! And the fox!"

Wills rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable." He looked at Turoi. "Go shoot the damn rabbit so we can get on with the job."

"Sir." Turoi readied his weapon and moved around the corner.

Only to fall back instantly with a bullet hole in his forehead.

Wills gaped.

"I told you, but no, you wouldn't listen! That rabbit is dynamite!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lucas hurried up to the doorway leading to the roof access. The two soldiers behind him moved slower, but with steps that were more sure, scanning behind them. As Lucas started to open the door, one of the soldiers- Knowles, he thought, though he didn't really care- pulled him back. "I should go first, sir."

"As long as we go. Come on."

Knowles threw the door open and scanned the stairway, rifle at the ready. "Looks clear."

Behind him there was a short staccato burst of gunfire and Santiago fell, a surprised expression on his face. Knowles spun and returned fire. Lucas caught a glimpse of Hunter retreating behind a corner.

"Go, go! I'll hold him here!" shouted Knowles. Lucas needed no further urging, dashing up the stairs. Behind him, Knowles backed into the doorway and moved to a barricaded position behind it. He fired again as Hunter's face briefly appeared, spattering the wall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy glanced around the control room one more time.

All the computers had been wiped. Several small charges were set, enough to turn the systems into scrap, as a backup measure. She was nothing if not methodical. Now, as long as Wills and Turoi could finish their mission and Lucas was extracted, they might achieve some sort of success out of this charlie-foxtrot of an operation.

"Koroliy, it's Wills."

She frowned. "Prometheus One to Two, I copy," she answered, stressing the call-signs slightly.

"Turoi is dead," said Wills, somewhat frantically. "I'm pinned down and can't maneuver."

"Oh, for- the only hostiles between you and the subjects should be Hopps and Wilde. What happened to the fire-team?"

"They're dead or wounded."

"What?"

"I need support!"

Koroliy cursed. "Fine. On the way." She picked up her carbine. "Have to do everything myself around here," she muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick leaned around the corner and fired again as Judy moved up. The human was retreating back along the corridor. The corridor they were in ended at a "T" intersection ahead- the human was to the left. He considered that.

"Okay, Carrots, I'm thinking we go right," he called, quietly.

She nodded, keeping her eyes downrange. "It looked like that's where they were heading."

Nick advanced further, all the way to the edge of the intersection. There was an office ahead. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted.

Shots rang out, but all went wild as the fox moved across the human's field of fire.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wills was panting with fear. He had fought humans multiple times, and had done fairly well. It should have been easy to hold a corridor against a mere two hostiles.

That proved to be untrue.

Whenever the fox or rabbit broke cover, he tried to take advantage. But the targets were too small and moved _so fast_. Even when he was prepared, there was barely time to register that they were moving before they had done so.

Once again, the fox flashed across his field of view as he continued backing down the corridor. Frantically, he fired, but Wilde was already in the office before he had pulled the trigger. He swung to cover the office that the fox had gone into, but then the rabbit aimed around the other corner.

He threw himself to the side, but it was too late.

Several rounds punched into him, including one to his chest that knocked the wind out of him. He fell, his gun clattering down the hall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's the last of them," said Nick.

"Let's go find the hostages. We can keep them safe until more officers get here," said Judy.

Nick glanced upward. "I hope Hunter's okay."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter growled in frustration as the XSO soldier fired again. It was a stalemate, with neither one able to advance, but that was all to the advantage of Lucas. All Hunter had to do to lose was sit here.

He glanced around, trying to think of something. The building was mostly empty, but there were a few remnants of the office it once was. Two large metal filing cabinets, a water cooler- with no water bottle, naturally- some scattered pieces of paper, a flatbed dolly-

He cocked his head, considering an idea.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Knowles crouched and quick-peeked around the door. This time, there was no gunfire in response. He paused, then took a longer look when he heard some loud thumping. A muffled curse followed, then more banging and thumping.

He frowned, confused. What was that cop up to?

Suddenly there was a burst of fire, and he ducked back before realizing it was completely unaimed. He processed the implications of that, then looked around again, bringing his gun to bear.

A flatbed dolly, loaded with filing cabinets, trundled down the hallway.

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at the man's stupidity, he started firing through the filing cabinets. Predictably, they were empty, meaning the rounds passed right through them and presumably through the idiot that thought he could push them in front of him to provide mobile cover-

By the time he realized that Hunter was not behind the dolly, but instead had pushed the dolly ahead and waited for Knowles to pop out, it was too late.

A single shot rang out.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter smiled grimly as the soldier slumped to the floor. The dolly slowed to a stop as it ran out of momentum even as Hunter dashed past it. He pushed open the door to the stairwell and started moving up the stairs.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy moved to either side of the doorway at the end of the corridor. With a nod, they burst in.

And stopped.

The room was elongated, with a discolored linoleum floor and bright, actinic lighting, though some of the fixtures had come loose and were swinging. The flickering light served to emphasize the horror.

Strapped to multiple hospital beds were a dozen or more mammals. Most lay still and unmoving. Others moaned, in pain or fear or both.

Judy hesitantly moved to one, and drew in a breath as she saw the bobcat lying in the cot. Though bloody, fur tangled and filthy, and with fresh scars along his skull and body, she recognized him. "Randy?" she said quietly.

The bobcat stirred and blinked at her, his eyes filmy. "Who's that?"

"I'm a friend of Earl's," said Judy softly. "We're going to get you out of here."

"Earl? I'm sorry, Earl," said the bobcat, sniffing. "I know you said I shouldn't hang out with Lucky."

"It's okay, Randy."

The bobcat started crying, tears soaking his fur. "I didn't mean to make Earl worry." He sobbed. "Please don't let them hurt me again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" his voice faded.

Judy looked at Nick, her face ashen. Nick put a hand on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again they were full of resolve.

"We need to keep them safe. No one else is getting to them."

Nick nodded.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Koroliy carefully moved down the corridor.

From what garbled transmissions she had received, it seemed like the entire first floor was in the hands of the ZPD. She could scarcely believe it, but not one unit that had been posted downstairs was responding.

Even more surprising was what she found in the corridor.

She knelt next to Wills and was surprised to find he was still breathing. "What happened?" she asked herself quietly.

Wills abruptly coughed. "It was Hopps and Wilde."

"An entire fire team-"

"It's not like fighting humans," said Wills. "They move too fast, they're too small a target. You need shotguns for something like that."

Koroliy considered that, then smiled faintly. "Or something similar." She looked down at Wills. "Are you able to move?"

He shook his head weakly. "No, I caught one in the lung, I think. I need to stay here, get medical attention."

"You know we can't let you fall into their hands."

"Are you going to carry me, then?" asked Wills, a note of asperity in his voice. "I'm telling you, Koroliy, I can't move."

"Fair enough." She raised her gun. "Nothing personal."

His eyes widened. "No, wait-"

She fired.

Scanning the corridor carefully, she continued moving.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy heard the soft sounds of someone approaching well before she saw them. She caught Nick's eye and gestured with her head towards the corridor. He nodded and raised his weapon.

The footsteps stopped. "I'm guessing you heard me, Hopps."

Judy remained silent.

"You might as well talk, Hopps. Time is on your side, after all."

After a moment, a blonde-haired head appeared around the corner.

Nick fired, but the head had already disappeared.

"Not bad," said Koroliy approvingly. "I really wasn't sure you two were here."

"Just turn around and leave, Koroliy," called Judy. "You're not going to get past us, but we won't stop you from going."

"Can't do that, Hopps. Mission first."

"I don't want to hurt you, Koroliy."

There was a chuckle. "No, I'm sure you don't. You know what your problem is, Hopps?"

"Right now? You."

"Your problem- the reason you're never going to be the sort of operator that Hunter is, or Wilde could be- is that you're a prey animal. You lack the killer instinct, the capacity for instant violence. How long did it take you to shoot Hunter, even when you were pretty sure he'd survive? Even when you thought he was a murderer?"

Nick shook his head. "You realize that she likes Hunter, Koroliy."

"Doesn't matter. She can't do what's needed. I, on the other hand, can. I hear you two are fast. Hard to hit, small targets. So dodge this."

A small spherical object bounced off a wall and down the corridor.

"Grenade!" shouted Nick.

Then there was nothing but sound, and Judy felt herself thrown back against the far wall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter kicked open the door to the roof and brought his weapon up.

A large skimmer- a shuttle, used for moving passengers from groundside to orbit- was hovering over the roof, a line extended to the rooftop below. Even as Hunter took that in, he spotted a soldier rappelling down the line. Instinctively, he fired.

The soldier was hit, falling the rest of the way uncontrolled.

That was when he noticed the second soldier, already on the ground. And aiming a rifle.

The bullet's impact spun him around and staggered him as it struck his shoulder. His own rifle went spinning out of his hands.

Hunter continued the spin and dashed forward, because the final thing he saw was Lucas, an expression of shock on his face, not far away.

Ignoring the shock of the bullet wound, Hunter rushed towards Lucas. The soldier who had shot him held his fire as Hunter put Lucas between them.

Lucas tried to run, but Hunter grabbed him and put him into a hold, spinning the scientist to face the soldier.

He had a hostage. But he was well aware that sooner or later, the soldier- or someone else- would get a clear shot. So he wasn't planning on negotiating.

As the rifleman hesitated, Hunter shoved Lucas in front of him and advanced, catching the trooper off guard. The soldier brought his rifle's muzzle up as the man he was there to protect stumbled towards him. Hunter ducked slightly and ran around Lucas. He charged, hitting the soldier with his good shoulder. The impact knocked the man backwards. Hunter kept going, pushing the soldier all the way to the edge of the roof, where he stopped. The soldier didn't, crying out as he fell.

Hunter barely managed to catch himself before going off the roof as well. Panting, he turned to see Lucas running towards the shuttle, which was now hovering just a few feet off the rooftop.

The cop, tamping down the pain running through him, chased him.

Lucas jumped through the open sliding door of the shuttle and barely had time to turn when Hunter leapt in after him.

Shouting in fear, Lucas swung at Hunter, a clumsy blow that the cop easily dodged. Hunter hit him with a right cross, knocking him down.

Then he was also thrown from his feet as the shuttle abruptly took off, shooting into the air. Hunter rolled, finding himself with his head over empty space. He could see the city receding below him.

Lucas got to his feet first. "You are determined, aren't you?" He kicked Hunter as he tried to get up, right in his injured ribs. Hunter yelped and shuddered in pain.

Lucas's fear slowly dissolved into confidence as he saw Hunter's condition. "Hmm, think you have some broken ribs there, Hunter. And the bullet wound- I don't think it hit anything important. You'll live-" he stopped, smiled. "Well, let's just say you won't die from the bullet wound." He put his foot against Hunter's shoulder and shoved. Hunter cried out. "You can trust me, Hunter. I'm a doctor."

"You're a murderous son of a bitch," said Hunter, his voice strained with pain.

"That's one perspective. But, you see, when you die- in a few moments- no one will remember you. But I- I have a better plan. You see," he said, squatting down near the cop. "I plan to live forever."

"Yeah? Plans change."

"Not this one. Immortality, Hunter- that's my goal. And I am close. Another few runs of experiments, another few sacrifices, and humanity will worship the very ground I tread."

"You're not God, Lucas."

"Am I not?" Lucas rose to his feet. "I created you, Hunter- cured your madness, made you whole, kept your personality dissolving in your own misbegotten demons. Then you displeased me, and I took everything from you. I raised you up, Hunter, and now I will cast you down." He put his foot on Hunter again, bracing himself for one final shove. "Good-bye, Hunter."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick shook his head, his ears ringing. Smoke obscured the room. He looked for his gun- saw it, shattered against a wall. He tried to push himself to his feet. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Judy lying against the other wall. She moved slightly, and he relaxed a bit.

A silhouette appeared in the smoke, resolved itself into Koroliy. She advanced, and Nick noted the two other grenades hung on her tactical armor, just below her neck on her chest. She saw Nick and raised her weapon. "Wilde."

"Koroliy," he croaked.

"Sorry about this, Wilde. I did like you. Hell, I might have offered you a job once you got some solid training. Someone of your size would have been useful for certain ops." She shook her head. "But like I said, you have to have a killer instinct. You two should have rushed me instead of talking me to death."

"You're right about Judy," said Nick. He kept his eyes on Koroliy. "She doesn't have a killer instinct. On the other hand, that's not what a cop needs."

"Oh? And what does a cop need?"

"A _protective_ instinct. And she has that in spades, Koroliy."

The human shrugged. "A lot of good it did her. Now, I've got a mission to complete, so-"

There was a noise behind her, and she spun.

Judy leapt up to the level of her head, putting her face up against hers. "You forgot to look right."

With that, she shoved herself backwards with her powerful hind feet, flying across the room. Koroliy staggered back, falling into the corridor.

Nick struggled to his feet. "Judy!"

"Nick, get down!"

He looked at her, then his eyes widened as she held up two grenade pins. The ones she had taken from the grenades on Koroliy's vest.

He dove for cover.

From the corridor, there was another shattering explosion.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter looked up at Lucas as the other man braced himself to push Hunter off the shuttle. Then he smiled.

Lucas kicked.

Hunter rolled, so the kick rolled off his shoulder and threw Lucas off balance. Catching himself before he went out the door, he forced himself to his feet.

Lucas snarled and tried to grab him, but Hunter buried a fist in his solar plexus. Lucas's eyes bulged and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Hunter looked around, spotted the cable used for rappelling troops, and smiled. He pulled up the cable.

Lucas stared at him, still struggling to breathe. "It doesn't matter if you arrest me," he gasped. "The Human Stars will stop at nothing to get me back."

"Gosh, well there goes that plan," said Hunter. "Guess I'll go to plan B. Killing you." He paused as if thinking. "Though I'm going to have to be completely honest with you." He struck Lucas again, sending the other man sprawling. "That was actually always the plan." He finished pulling up the rope. He set the lever controlling the rope to keep it taut.

"You can't, Hunter. You're a cop."

Hunter yanked him up. "So I read up in that Bible book after you quoted it at me. One part caught my eye. Let me see if I can remember it right." He hit Lucas again. "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin."

"What?"

"Hey, that's what the Persian king said when the those words appeared on the wall. Well, more or less. I'm going to paraphrase a bit here, just so you know." Hunter looped the rope around Lucas's neck, easily fending off the man's weak attempts to stop him. "It means this. God has numbered thy life, and finished it." He pulled the lever controlling the rope again, until it was taut. "Thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting."

He shoved Lucas back against the very edge of the doorway, with nothing below him but air and the ground far, far below. Lucas struggled to keep his balance, his eyes wide with fear, the rope around his neck. He held desperately onto the taut rope, which was the only thing holding him back from falling. "This very night, thy life shall be taken from you."

Lucas frantically yanked at the rope. "Hunter, you can't appoint yourself judge, jury, and executioner-"

Hunter looked him in the eyes. "You were judged, Lucas. A jury of your peers found you guilty of murder and sentenced you to hang by the neck until you were dead." He put his hand on the lever of the rope controls, looked back at Lucas. "Judge, jury and executioner? I think I can live with one out of three." He yanked the lever. The rope, no longer held taut, was pulled freely out by the weight of Lucas at the end.

Lucas screamed as he fell backwards out of the shuttle. With a grunt, Hunter yanked the lever to tauten the rope again.

The rope snapped tight with a jerk.

Hunter looked out of the doorway and watched the limp corpse swaying under the shuttle.

He spat, and moved towards the cockpit.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The pilot of the shuttle was growing increasingly concerned. He had lifted off as soon as his passenger- a vital asset, he had been told- was aboard, but had yet to hear anything. He keyed his intercom. "Dr. Jaeger! I need you to shut the bay door- I can't lift atmosphere with it open."

The door behind him slid open. He turned. "Dr. Jaeger-"

He felt a hand grab at his belt, and heard the snap of his holster unfastening. A moment later, he found himself looking down the barrel of his own gun.

"Second time I've done that," said the battered man holding the gun on him. "Why on earth do they bother arming you pilots anyway?"

"Who are you?"

"Hunter."

"Where's Dr. Jaeger?"

"Oh, he's hanging around." He gestured with the gun. "Land the shuttle."

The pilot shook his head. "Can't do that."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Won't. Look, unless you know how to fly this thing, you can't kill me, and so I'm not afraid of you."

Hunter considered that. "Good point." He readjusted his aim. "Do you have a favorite kneecap, or should I just pick one?"

"Uh, I kinda like both of them."

"Then land the damn shuttle. Or decide which one you want to lose."

The pilot opened his mouth, then saw Hunter's eyes. They were the eyes of a man who has been through hell. The eyes of a man who had nothing to lose.

The pilot, on the other hand, had plenty to lose. Starting with his kneecaps. He turned back to his instruments. "Yes, sir, right away, sir. Do you want to land just anywhere, or..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy and Nick staggered out of the hallway, clutching one another for support. Bogo stared at them in frank astonishment. "Get the paramedics up here!" he shouted over his shoulder. He rushed over to them. "What's your status, Hopps?"

"Pretty banged up," she said shakily. "Did we win?"

"All suspects are either deceased or in custody," said Bogo grimly. "Though I can't really count this as a win."

"Maybe it will help that we saved quite a few lives," said Nick. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Send those paramedics down that corridor. There are mammals that need them more than us."

Bogo looked unsure, but nodded. "Fine. You two wait here." He walked off, bawling orders.

Nick sat down heavily, pulling Judy down with him. She clung to him, and he pulled her close. "That was pretty rough," he said.

She was shaking, the reaction beginning to set in, adrenaline leaving her system. "Yeah."

Nick's phone rang. Puzzled, he looked at it. With a shrug, he answered. "Hello?"

"Nick? It's Hunter."

"Hunter?" Judy looked up in surprise. "Where are you?"

"In a military shuttle. I borrowed it."

"The word is hijacked," said a voice in the background.

Nick's eyes narrowed. "Who was that?"

"Oh, that's Ted, the pilot. Ted has been very cooperative."

"He threatened to kneecap me!"

"Only threatened! So far."

Nick shook his head. "There's something wrong with a species that uses 'kneecap' as a verb."

"Well, we're only human."

Judy grabbed the phone. "Are you okay?"

There was a slight pause. "Sure."

"Hunter!"

"I've got a bullet wound to the shoulder, but haven't bled out yet, so that's okay. I've got broken ribs and a fox bite on my calf. So I'll live. How are you guys?"

"Pretty banged up, but we're all right. What happened to Lucas?"

"Oh," said Hunter. "He's hanging around- wait, I used that one. Oh, I know- he's at the end of his rope."

"Hunter-" said Judy warningly.

The older cop's voice became serious. "He's not going to hurt anyone else."

Judy sighed. "Where are you headed?"

"The hospital. St. Bernard's again. Meet you there."

"Okay. Be careful."

"When am I not careful?"

"Like, literally all the time."

"Okay, fine." There was a long silence. "Are you guys okay?"

"I told you-"

"I know you're physically all right. That's not what I meant."

Nick and Judy looked at one another. She tilted her head back, staring up at the ceiling. "We're about as well as can be."

"That bad, huh?"

"How about you?" asked Judy.

"I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Zach-"

There was a click as the call ended.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note:_

 _Well, I hope that was as exciting to read as it was to write. Let me know what you think of the action scenes- they're very tricky to write, so feedback is appreciated so I know what to adjust._

 _So there will be an epilogue. A lot of bad stuff happened, and that's going to affect the characters. But I'll try to end on at least a bittersweet note._


	23. Epilogue

Tavi sat quietly in the tank.

She had experimented with the controls. After she accidentally demolished a wall with sustained fire, she desisted. She wasn't exactly sure what her role was as a civilian in what appeared to be a war zone, but she was pretty certain destroying walls was not part of it. Though she had to admit, there was a substantial amount of destruction going on and it was a shame to be left out entirely.

After a long moment, she sighed anxiously. "I wish I knew how to control this thing."

There was a hum, and then a voice spoke. "You sound like you need help. Would you like to log in? Yes or no?"

She looked around wildly. "What?"

"Would you like to log in? Yes or no?"

"Um. Yes?"

"Log in detected." Instrument panels around her lit up. A faint whirring noise issued from the various equipment around her. "Please state your name."

"Anila Tavi," said the mongoose hesitantly.

"Initial log in confirmed. Administrator Anila Tavi. Please name this vehicle for future reference."

Tavi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You are the first log in after system reset. That makes you the system administrator. Please name this vehicle for future reference."

For a long moment, she considered. For some reason, she thought of something Hunter had told her once. Of sheep, and wolves, and sheepdogs. Then she smiled.

"Your name is Shepherd."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The pilot of the shuttle eyed the bloody figure next to him carefully. Hunter lay back, eyes closed, his breathing shallow and pained. Carefully, the pilot reached for the communications console.

Immediately, the pistol came up. "What are you doing?" asked Hunter.

"Um-"

"Just land the shuttle."

"Look, at least let me notify my superiors what is going on-"

The comms console beeped. Hunter gave it a suspicious glare. "What's that?"

"Someone's trying to reach me," said the pilot carefully, eyes never leaving the gun. "I might as well answer- they'll know something's up if I don't."

Hunter thought about it, then nodded. "Fine," he said, gesturing with the gun. "But no funny business."

"Perish the thought," muttered the pilot. He acknowledged the call. After a second, he blinked, looked at Hunter. "It's for you."

"Huh?"

In answer, the pilot activated the speaker.

"Mr. Hunter." The voice boomed, full of confidence.

The cop eyed the console warily. "Who's this?"

"You can call me Prometheus." The pilot stiffened, his eyes widening.

Hunter gave him a glance before addressing the console. "Well, some people call me the space cowboy. Others call me the gangster of love."

The voice sounded suddenly confused. "What?"

"And others call me Maurice, because I speak of the pompatus of love."

"Mr. Hunter," said the voice, apparently deciding to ignore whatever that was. "You have set back my plans a great deal."

"Oh, good. I thought I got shot for nothing."

"Lucas was a psychopath, but he was also brilliant. Do you realize that he was telling the truth? That he could have held one of the keys to immortality for the human species?" Prometheus harshened his tone. "What gives you the right to withhold that knowledge from humanity?"

"What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies for that knowledge?" shot back Hunter. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

"What?" Prometheus sounded taken off guard. "What are you talking about?"

Hunter leaned back and closed his eyes, his shoulder throbbing with pain. "If we became immortal, wouldn't it matter how we got there? Wouldn't it matter what kind of people we were, to gain that much power?"

"A few lives to save inestimable millions, even billions-"

"And what sort of redemption would we require to earn our lives?" Hunter shook his head. "That choice was made for me, Prometheus. I won't make it for anyone else."

There was a silence. "You are being foolish."

"Well, I am just a dumb cop."

"Hardly that. Look, Hunter," the voice became calmer, even reasonable. "I am willing to let bygones be bygones. What's done is done. You have proven yourself a remarkable individual. Allow me to make you an offer."

"An offer, you say? Let me guess, join or die?"

"No, of course- okay, yes, that about sums it up. You accept, and that shuttle flies you to my vessel. I'll give you the best medical treatment money can buy, and you can lead one of my teams."

"And what are your goals, mysterious voice?"

"Nothing you would object to," said Prometheus confidently. "I seek nothing less than the salvation of mankind. And such allies as may present themselves. The mammals of Terra are our natural allies against the terrors of the stars, you know."

"I do agree with you there."

"Then there is no reason to fight. Lucas is dead. He was useful, but he is gone. We can have a fresh start, you and I, and see both Terra and humanity into a fresh era of peace and prosperity."

"Sounds good," said Hunter.

"Then you agree?"

"So did you authorize Lucas to murder my wife and two daughters?"

A long silence.

"Well?" asked Hunter, an edge in his voice.

"I did not stop him," said Prometheus cautiously.

"Oh, well, then. Short answer to your proposal is, 'No.'"

"May I trouble you for the long answer?"

"Sure. It's this." Hunter raised the pistol. "Fuck you." He fired the gun into the comms console.

The pilot cried out, covering his ears. "It has an off switch, dammit!"

Hunter fixed him with a baleful glare. "Do you?" He hefted the gun menacingly.

The pilot opened his mouth, then thought better of it. He nodded, remaining silent.

Hunter settled back. "Huh. Looks like I found it."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

"Romeo X-ray One Six, target is in sight."

The pilot of the Arewing fighter settled in behind the shuttle craft. "Positive lock," he announced calmly as a hum filled his ears. "Permission to engage."

He waited. "Romeo X-ray One Six to Prometheus Actual, permission to engage. Target is beginning landing approach."

"Prometheus Actual to Romeo X-ray One Six," came the reply. There was a pause. "Weapons tight. Disengage."

The fighter pilot hesitated. "Confirm weapons tight, disengage."

"Let them go, One Six." The voice sounded pensive. "Confirm weapons tight, disengage."

"Roger, wilco," said the pilot, shaking his head as he nosed into a steep ascent, headed for space. "Romeo Tango Bravo." Returning To Base.

"Acknowledged."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy, along with several armed ZPD, watched the shuttle come in for a landing. "He sounded pretty rough," said Judy worriedly.

"It's Hunter. When does he ever sound good?"

"This is him, right?"

The shuttle landed and a flight-suited figure leapt out, arms held above his head. "Don't shoot! Get me away from that maniac!" ZPD officers converged on him.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, he's definitely onboard."

Another human carefully hopped down from the flight deck. Battered, bleeding, Hunter looked at the fox and the rabbit. "Thank God," he said, quietly. "You guys are okay?"

Nick and Judy rushed up to him. There was little they could do- they were far too small to give much more than moral support- but they helped him down to the ground. "We're fine," said Nick. "Carrots took out the bad guy."

"With a little help from a sly fox."

Nick held up his thumb and forefinger, a slight distance apart from one another. "A very little help. I was mostly the distraction."

"Glad to see you found your proper role," said Hunter dryly. He winced and sank to the ground. "Well, adrenaline is about gone. How's Tavi?"

Nick and Judy looked at each other. "She's fine," said Judy hesitantly.

Hunter looked at her sharply. "What?"

"Um, well, she sort of made a new friend..."

A small gray figure suddenly appeared, eyes bright. "Zach!" Tavi rushed to him and tackled him, careful to avoid the injured shoulder. "You're okay?"

"For a given value of- holy shit!"

Behind her, a massive form hovered into sight. The tank moved forward onto the roof, nose shifting to and fro carefully. "Perimeter secure," said the tank, edging forward slightly. "Commander, disengage from possible threat."

Tavi whipped around to face the tank, her paws on her hips. "He's not a threat! He's my friend!"

Hunter stared. "What-"

"Target redesignated as 'friendly'." The tank spun around and started moving along the edge of the roof. "Securing area."

Hunter watched the tank warily. "Tavi, what have you done?"

"Well, I sort of accidentally became the tank's commander."

"Okay. So..."

"And now it follows me around like a puppy. I named it Shepherd."

Hunter's eyes narrowed. "So it followed you home, and now you want to keep it." He shook his head. "I don't know, Tavi, a tank is a big responsibility-" He stopped. "You know what? Keep it. Just don't expect me to clean up after it."

"Um, I don't think tanks work like that," said Tavi.

"Yeah, I don't care. In case you haven't noticed, I've been shot. Let's deal with that, shall we?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This is...is ZNN."

"The top story of the night is the continuing ban on human travel to Terra. All human tourists are being removed from the planet. Please note, that after the eighth, any human not directly authorized by the Terran Council of Nations to be on Terra will be subject to immediate detention." The snow leopard anchormammal shuffled her papers nervously. "The Human Stars response has been to continue to reiterate their claim that the recent attack, which left seven ZPD officers killed and numerous others wounded, was an operation by rogue elements. Investigators with ZPD deny this claim, stating that captured personnel are clearly members of the so-called XSO team, the Extra-territorial Special Operations group, used by the Human Stars for operations of just this type.

"We go now live to ZNN correspondent Carlos de los Aguaporcos at the Zootopia Spaceport. Carlos, how are the human tourists being removed responding?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The capybara took a deep breath. "Well, the general response is one of concern, but overall things have proceeded smoothly. I am here with Judy Hopps, of the ZPD, for more comment. Officer Hopps, have there been any problems with the evacuation of human travellers?"

Judy shook her head. "No, Carlos, things have been fine. Mammals are worried with tensions being so high with the Human Stars, but in general they understand."

"In general? What do you mean?"

Nick, standing next to her, cut in. "Well, a few people don't seem to understand the situation. But have we been able to explain it fully to them? I think we have."

"Officer Nicholas Wilde," said Carlos into the camera. "Officers Hopps and Wilde, you were there when the raid on the human- what's the word- incursion took place. What happened, exactly?"

Both officers stood stock-still. "I'm afraid I cannot comment on an on-going investigation," said Judy stonily.

"But-"

"Sorry."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy watched the sullen crowd of human tourists as they were shepherded into the waiting shuttles. "Things are pretty bad, Fluff," observed Nick.

"It'll be all right," said Judy. She sounded unconvinced.

Nick eyed her. "We need to be ready for anything."

"Like what?"

There was suddenly a commotion from up ahead. Immediately, both cops ran towards the shouting.

Two armed ZPD had their weapons up, covering a group of- Judy blinked.

Twelve humans stood patiently, hands held out to their sides. Twelve humans in FLPD dress uniforms.

Suddenly, a wolf officer ran up and flung her arms around one of the humans. "Louis!" shouted Barker joyfully. "Louis Wu!"

The human, taken by surprise, glanced at the stone face of an FLPD officer wearing the stars of a chief of police nervously before hugging Barker back. "Hey, Ruth."

The wolf stepped back, tongue lolling cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"

The chief of FLPD stepped forward, ignoring the leveled guns. "We're here to provide an honor guard for the burial of Officer Hirsch."

There was a sudden silence. The two armed ZPD officers lowered their weapons slightly, with an embarrassed air. "Sir," said one. "No humans are allowed on Terra-"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a voice interrupted. "This is the exception."

Everyone turned.

Chief Bogo paced up, eyes on the human chief. Beside him walked Hunter, moving painfully with an arm still in a sling. Both officers moved up to a short distance from the FLPD chief of police and halted.

Precisely, they saluted.

The FLPD chief returned the salute. "May I have permission to enter, sir?" asked the chief.

"Permission granted," said Bogo.

The chief looked at Hunter, who grinned nervously. "It's okay with me, too."

The chief rolled his eyes. "Oh, good. How are you doing, Hunter?"

"Oh, you know. Got shot again."

"You really need to learn how to duck."

"Hey, you know they have this thing here you should try, chief. It's called sympathy."

"Hunter, pain is just weakness leaving the body."

"In that case, sir, I'd just as soon let the weakness stay where it is."

The FLPD chief grinned and shook his head. "Never change, Hunter."

Bogo frowned, looked at Hunter. "Ignore that order, Hunter. Change."

Hunter saluted. "Yes, sir. Any particular way?"

"I'll send you a list." Bogo turned back to the human cops. "I thought you were just here to pick up Hirsch's remains." He looked at the other humans, frowning at the unfamiliar objects some of them carried. "What are those? Some kind of weapon?"

"Some people think so," said the FLPD chief, following his gaze. "They're called bagpipes. We're going to attend the funeral, if that's okay with you." He met Bogo's eyes. "We didn't just lose one brother or sister here, chief. We'd like to honor all of them."

After a long moment, Bogo nodded.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The funeral, appropriately, happened in the rain.

Nick waited with the long-suffering that every male of every species felt when dressed in formal attire and in the presence of a female as Judy fussed over his tie. "It's okay, Carrots."

"Almost- there!" she said, stepping back in satisfaction.

He glanced down at the tie. "Much better," he said, though frankly he couldn't see the difference. He looked up as two other cops approached. "Hey, Zach. Tavi."

The mongoose looked pensive, but Hunter nodded. "Judy. Nick."

Nick looked at his boots in surprise. Following his gaze, Hunter looked down. "What?"

"Your boots. They're actually shined?" Nick couldn't remember ever seeing Hunter's boots shined, and now they gleamed.

Hunter smiled, though with a touch of sadness. "Some things are sacred, Nick."

They fell into line near the gravesites. Nick put an arm around Judy, who was sniffling a bit as the rest of the officers fell in. Hunter stared at the graves, and for a moment Nick wondered- were those tears, or just the rain?

Then the call came. "Ten-hut!"

With a snap, the assembled officers came to attention.

"Present- arms!"

Every officer's hand came up in a salute.

Two humans stepped forward, with the strange devices they called bagpipes. They took a breath.

A plaintive tune split the air. No one knew the words anymore, nor the title. It started slow, and continued, mournful at first but lilting upwards. Even without words, it spoke of the sadness of loss, and the joy of the departed in gaining the only immortality they would ever know. It had been brought across light-years and millenia by cops as they went to the stars, fulfilling the function they had served since the first praetors had prowled the streets of Rome searching for murderers and thieves. It had once been called _Amazing Grace._

Nick, Judy, Tavi, and Hunter all held their salutes steadily, as the song wound on. The rain beat on their hats. A cold wind ruffled their coats. They held their salutes.

Some things were sacred.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter stared blearily at the bottle in front of him.

He had said a few words of goodbye to his concerned friends at the funeral, then left. Bogo had talked to him. He was cleared of charges, but his actions had not been particularly well-received. Six months unpaid suspension.

He had little money set by. Even without child- he shied away from the thought. The whole reason he was here was to avoid thinking about that. He gestured for another drink, which was duly set down. As he reached for it, a furry paw grasped the glass. "Hey, thanks, Hunter."

The human glared at the paw's owner. "Give me the drink, Nick."

The fox pulled the whiskey towards him as he sat down opposite Hunter. "Nope."

A rabbit's face appeared as Judy hopped up beside the fox. "You've had enough," said Judy.

He shook his head. "No, because I can still speak clearly." He paused. "Sort of." He glanced at the waiter. "Give me another whiskey."

"Ignore him," said Judy firmly.

The waiter hesitated. "Um-"

She held up her badge. "He's had enough."

"Hey," protested Hunter. "I've got one of those too."

"No, you don't," said another voice. He looked down beside him as Tavi scrambled up. She looked at him sorrowfully. "You're suspended."

He shook his head. "I don't need an intervention, guys."

"What do you need?" asked Tavi.

"A drink. And then a few more for good measure."

"Fine," said Nick. "Judy will have a vodka and carrot juice. Tavi will have-" he frowned, suddenly. "A fruit juice."

"I'm old enough to drink!" protested Tavi.

"Yeah, but we need a designated driver." Nick looked at Hunter, who was watching them with a bemused air. "You can't just drink this away, Hunter."

"I can try."

"We found out about your children, Zach," said Judy quietly.

For a long moment, Hunter stared at her. His mouth worked, but nothing came out. Then, he did something none of them had ever seen him do.

He started crying.

Tears ran down his cheeks, and he hastily covered his eyes with one hand. "I couldn't help them," he said, sobbing.

Tavi hugged him fiercely. "It's not your fault."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter if it is or not. They're still dead." He closed his eyes. "I barely even knew them. Lana took them away after the divorce and moved back to Novaya Rodina." Tears streamed from his eyes. "I couldn't even afford to visit, except once. I never got to see them grow up. And now I never will."

Nick and Judy felt their own eyes moisten with tears. "Zach, you can't make this go away by drinking," said Nick, his voice hoarse.

Hunter opened his eyes, looking at him. "You don't think I know that? But I can forget-"

"For a while. But is that what you really want?"

"Yes." Then, he shook his head. "No."

"That's not how you deal with this, Hunter. You're just putting it off," said Judy.

"So how do I deal with it?" asked Hunter in a monotone.

"By remembering. By being around someone you love, by keeping them alive in your heart." Tavi leaned into him, her big eyes on his. "We're your friends, Hunter. Talk to us. Tell us about your family."

He smiled, sadly. "You're wrong. You're not my friends."

The three other cops looked stricken, until he continued. "I should say, you're not just my friends. You're my family. You're the only ones I have left."

The table fell into a silence, until Hunter took a deep breath.

"Tanya was the oldest," he said, his voice low. "I remember when she was born, she had the strongest grip of any baby I'd ever seen. I could have held her for hours, just watching her eyes as she took in the world..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy shrugged on her coat. "How is he?"

"Passed out," said Nick. "I don't envy him the hangover he'll have tomorrow."

Judy smiled sadly. "You think it was a good idea to let him keep drinking?"

"Yes," said Nick positively. "But he needed to talk about things as well."

The bunny sighed. "I need to call my mom."

Nick looked at her curiously. "At seven in the morning?"

"She worries. Especially after the Raid." The Raid was what ZPD was calling the assault on the human XSO team. Capital letters were mandatory.

"Okay. I'm going to check on Tavi. I think that bar wasn't used to mammals of her size drinking there." Tavi had started drinking after all- they had taken a taxi back to Hunter's place. Which he was apparently going to be evicted from, since he couldn't afford the rent. Something to deal with later.

Nick left and Judy pulled out her phone.

Hunter had talked long into the night. He had spoken of his joy at the birth of his two girls, the amazement and wonder he had watching them grow. She thought of the way his rough, weather-beaten face had softened as he talked about two girls who might as well have been angels from the way he talked about them.

She thought about family. She thought about Nick.

She dialed the number.

"Mom? It's Judy- yeah, I'm fine. I was up late with a friend." She paused as her mother spoke. "Yes, he's fine. He's just been having a rough time."

She took a deep breath. "I have some leave coming, I thought I'd come by." She paused again, smiling at her mother's joyful tone. "Yes, I know, I missed you too. Um, I think I'll be bringing someone by, as well."

There was a pause. "Oh?" asked her mother, her tone full of unasked questions.

Judy smiled. "My boyfriend. Nick."

A long silence.

"The fox?" shouted her mother.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Author's Note: So that took a long, long time. Sorry. Had a really rough week- lots of work, having to take paperwork home with me, all sorts of stuff going on._

 _A quick note: Again, no political element exists in this story- the "travel ban" on humans in this story is not intended to reflect any current events in American politics. I have no comment on_ that _travel ban, nor the president, nor anything else. I mean that sincerely- no comment means no comment. I am very much not bringing contemporary politics into this._

 _Plans for the future: I do intend to continue this, but there will likely be a hiatus. I do not anticipate work becoming any easier for about three weeks or so, so writing time will be limited. In addition, I want to work on some of my original stuff so that hopefully, one day, I can be a published author (the stuff I wrote in college for random short-lived magazines doesn't count). That said, I deliberately set up a sequel hook here and intend to make use of it. These stories seem to write themselves, which helps with getting through writer's block._

 _I also intend to throw in, sooner or later, a short arc similar to that at the end of_ Hunter's Rules _, in which we'll find out Hunter's solution to his little housing situation._

 _In the meantime, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. As they said in olden times, keep watching this space._

 _Cheers!_


	24. Short Story Chapter 1

Sly, Not Subtle

 _A/N: This is what could be called a breather episode- a low stakes, highly humor-oriented story after what I hope was a pretty intense story before that (Hunter and Hunted). I intend to start developing Nick and Judy's relationship a lot more in this one, and so they'll be getting a lot of "screen time". I couldn't resist Hunter going to Bunnyburrow with them, however, as his unique brand of inadvertent havoc should be pretty amusing._

 _I would like to thank Erinnyes01 for the outstanding assistance provided with editing- it was extremely helpful. Several mistakes were corrected with Erinnyes01's able assistance and advice. Thanks so much!_

 _All errors, of course, are still mine and mine alone._

Nick and Judy sipped their coffee sitting silently at the table in Hunter's small kitchen.

They could hear the snores from Hunter's bedroom as he slept off what had seemed to be most of the contents of the bar they had been at the night before.

Nick winced as a particularly powerful snore broke the silence. "Are you sure about this?" he asked Judy plaintively.

"Yes," she answered firmly. "We're all he's got left."

"But-" he paused as a snore dissolved into a strange, hacking rasp. He gestured towards the bedroom.

Judy's ears laid back, but her voice remained firm. "He's going to be evicted, and he doesn't have a source of income, Nick. What do you suggest, he live on the streets?"

"No," said Nick sourly. "If he snores like that all the time the homeless mammals will kill him before sunrise."

It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was probably as close as she was going to get. "By the way," she said, hesitantly. "You know I called my mom this morning?"

He nodded. "How's she doing?"

"Scared. Worried." Judy leaned back, avoiding his eyes by watching the ceiling and took a breath. "And maybe a bit more because I, uh, told her about you- about us, I mean."

Nick spat out his coffee. "What? Why?"

"Well, I had to tell her sooner or later."

"What was wrong with later?"

Judy glared at him. "Weren't you the one who was upset about me refusing to-" she made air quotes- "define the relationship?"

"Now, wait a minute-"

She stood up. "You mean a lot to me, Nick, and so do they. I'm not going to hide you from them, like some sort of, I don't know, dirty secret."

The fox put his ears back. "No, of course not. But maybe we could have kept it under our hats for just a little longer. I mean, don't your parents sort of have a thing about foxes?"

Judy hesitated, her annoyance evaporating as suddenly as it had arisen. "Well-"

Nick sighed. "Well, it's done now anyway. I guess we can lay low a bit, maybe let them get used to the idea."

"Uh-"  
He looked up at her suspiciously. "What?"

Judy had a guilty look on her face. "Well, I sort of- she can be really persuasive sometimes-"

Nick rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on Judy. "Carrots, what did you do?"

"I mean, we might as well get it over with-"

"Carrots-" Nick said warningly, a slight growl in his tone.

"I said we'd come to see them and they could meet you."

Nick stared at her, his face frozen in disbelief, his eyes wide. "Oh, no."

She smiled helplessly. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Behind them, Hunter padded into the kitchen, still wearing his clothes from the night before- though they had managed to take off his boots after he had collapsed into his bed. He walked to the refrigerator and opened it.

Nick and Judy watched him, surprised by his blase reaction to their presence.

Hunter pulled out a carton of milk and squinted at it, apparently reading the expiration date. He still gave no sign of acknowledging them.

Nick and Judy traded a look.

The human muttered something, then shrugged and started swigging directly from the carton. Judy finally decided to say something. "Good morning!" she said brightly.

Hunter spat the milk out and whirled, hand grasping for his waistband where his gun would normally be. He spotted the two mammals at the table and stared, wide-eyed. "Where did you two come from?"

"Um, we've been right here ever since you walked in," said Judy, who had skipped back at his reaction.

He looked from one to the other. "Seriously?"

Nick shook his head. "Geeze, Hunter, you really were drunk."

He eyed the fox. "Well, I am a professional."

"Professional drinker? Or did you mean professional cop?"

"There's a difference?" Hunter grabbed a towel and started dabbing at the counter where he had sprayed the milk. "Not that I mind, but what are you two still hanging around for?"

"We woke up only about an hour or two ago," said Judy. "We decided to hang around, make sure you were still alive."

"The issue did seem in doubt," put in Nick. He scowled. "Especially when you started snoring."

"I don't snore. And besides, wouldn't that have made it even clearer I was alive?"

"No, I mean I was getting ready to kill you."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks anyway."

"For staying over or not killing you?"

"Either. Both. So you stayed over just to make sure I survived, huh?"

"That, and Tavi didn't have a ride."

Confused, Hunter looked around, before spotting her curled up on the sofa. He shook his head. "Didn't really plan for a sleepover."

"Why don't we get breakfast?" said Judy suddenly. "There's a place not far from here I know-"

Hunter was shaking his head. "No, I'm not really a breakfast person. You guys don't need to hang around with me- I know you still have things to do. Like apartment hunting."

Once again, Nick and Judy glanced at one another. Nick looked at Hunter. "Well, as a matter of fact, we were talking, and- well, we know you can't afford to pay rent here anymore since you're on unpaid suspension, and, uh-" he trailed off as Hunter narrowed his eyes at him.

Judy picked up where he left off. "We thought you might stay with us. You know, room with us until you get off suspension."

For a long moment, Hunter just stared at them. "You know I can't really help with bills or rent much," he said finally. "I mean, I might be able to find some kind of temporary job, but-"

"It's fine," said Nick. "I mean, you'd do the same for us."

"Debatable," said the human flatly.

Judy rolled her eyes.

"More importantly, I can be kind of hard to live with," warned Hunter. He seemed to be considering the idea.

"Oh, come on," said Judy cheerfully, seeing that he was almost persuaded. "We've saved each other's lives so many times now, how hard could it be to live together?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick walked into their new apartment and found Judy glaring at him, paws on her hips.

"You need to either talk to him, or help me hide his body," she said tightly.

Nick frowned. "Hunter?"

"Who else?"

They had been in the apartment for only a week, and though the snoring was bearable- due only to the extensive soundproofing and the fact that the two bedrooms of the apartment were on opposite sides- Hunter had been correct in his warning.

Years of living as a bachelor meant that he was used to doing things his own way. He was up at all hours, often pacing around the apartment, silent except for vague mutters to himself. His old place had been very clean, but Nick and Judy had learned to their chagrin that he'd had a maid, presumably a very tolerant and hardworking one. Dishes were generally left wherever he had finished eating, and carelessly discarded clothing was often strewn around.

They had accepted his quirks with relative equanimity, and even seen progress as Hunter adjusted to having roommates. But Judy had never been like this.

"What's he done?"

"He got a job," said Judy.

"Really? That's great!"

"He's working from home," she continued in an ominous tone. "Finnick got him the job," she added.

Nick paused. "Uh-"

"Go into the living room."

Nick hesitantly walked through the entry and dining area and around the corner to the living room. He stopped, staring.

A dropcloth had been draped across the expanse of carpet between the sofa and TV. Paint and what appeared to be dried concrete was spattered across it. Nick groaned inwardly as he realized that not all the splashed concrete and paint had been caught by the dropcloth.

In the middle of the room, Hunter was on his knees, carefully pouring concrete into a rectangular mold roughly half a meter square. He glanced up as Nick came in. "Hey, Nick."

The fox looked at him, looked around at the room. "Hunter, what are you doing?"

"Finnick got me a job. We got along pretty well. He says 'Hi', by the way." Frowning in concentration, Hunter finished pouring the concrete and started carefully placing small wooden boards- Nick instantly recognized them as popsicle sticks- into the mold.

"What kind of job?" asked Nick. He noticed several other concrete slabs with popsicle sticks stuck upright in them. It seemed vaguely familiar-

"Construction," said Hunter cheerfully.

"Construction-"

"Yep. You know how I made models as a hobby?"

Nick nodded, remembering his surprise at discovering Hunter's odd way of relaxing. "Yes."

"Well, turns out that's about the only skill besides policing I have." Hunter finished placing the popsicle sticks and leaned back. "So I'm working on building these."

"And these are, what? Scale models of buildings?" Even as he said it, Nick realized what he was seeing.

"Nope!" Hunter grinned. "I'm prefabbing structures for a Little Rodentia construction firm. Finnick said you used to do business with them. They have scale models, though." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black jewelry case. He opened it and held it up to Nick. "See?" Nick saw a miniscule model of a building, clearly designed for rodent eyes.

It was at that moment that Judy walked in. They both looked at her.

She looked at Hunter, on his knees on the floor, holding up the open jewelry case to Nick, who stared at it in surprise. She looked at Nick, whose ears flattened as he realized what this looked like.

"Sweet cheese and crackers."

"Now wait a minute," said Nick hurriedly. "It's not like that- Hunter just whipped it out from his pants-"

Hunter winced. "Phrasing!"

She sighed. "Just when I think life can't get any weirder..."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Judy watched Hunter from the dining room as he continued to build the tiny structures.

"I've never seen him this focused," said Judy, her earlier anger faded. Though she winced whenever she spotted a new stain on the carpet.

Nick shrugged. "It's something he has control over. Something that he can do right, almost perfectly, and only himself to blame if he gets it wrong. Something where the stakes are small but the satisfaction is high."

Judy looked at him curiously.

He noticed her gaze and smiled ruefully. "I can relate."

She leaned against him. "You're still worried about meeting my parents."

He put his arm around her and sighed. "Yeah."

"It's going to be fine," she said. "They'll see just what kind of mammal you are, and then they'll see what I see in you."

He looked down at her. "And what do you see in me, exactly?"

She cocked her head to one side as she met his eyes. "What do you think?"

Nick opened his mouth, then stopped. He looked away. She felt him stiffen slightly.

Before she could say anything, he flashed a grin at her. "Well, besides handsome, brilliant, and charming, I can't think of anything."

She smiled weakly, but kept searching his eyes. There was a slight reticence there, a bit of a wall- should she try to find out what was going on?

He pulled her closer before she could say anything. "You know, I think Hunter might be busy in here for a while."

She looked back at Hunter, who was carefully starting on the second story of one of the buildings. "Oh?" she said, her heart starting to race.

"Uh-huh." He grinned at her again. "There's something I want to show you in the bedroom."

She rolled her eyes. "That's the best pick-up line you got?"

"Nope, this is." He suddenly snatched her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Hey! I thought foxes were subtle!"

"No, just 'sly'," he said cheerfully as he walked down the hall.


	25. Short Story Chapter 2

"Five prefabricated three story buildings," said Hunter to the rodent foremammal. He grunted as he lifted one from the back of Finnick's van to the ground. "How's it look?"  
The foremammal, Burrows, looked it over carefully, walking inside the building and testing the walls. He walked out again, nodding approvingly. "Not bad. That'll save us a fair bit of time- we'll have our engineers go over it to make sure, but I think we can go ahead and pay you now." He walked over to a tiny rodent truck nearby, Hunter following. Finnick, who had been driving, walked over to look at the miniature buildings.  
The rodent reached into the back of the truck and, with some difficulty, started pulling out hundred dollar bills, which he handed up to the human. "Though I'm not sure it's worth the effort of carrying around this big mammal money," he muttered.  
Hunter counted the bills silently as they were passed to him. "You could just write me a check."  
"Nah, better to work in cash in this business." Burrows handed him the last of the bills. "Well, there you go. Fifteen hundred."  
Hunter paused, recounted the money. "I thought we agreed on two thousand."  
Burrows looked up at him. "I thought you knew. You gotta pay off the Chargers."  
Hunter squinted down at the tiny mammal. "The who?"  
"The Chargers?" Burrows rolled his eyes at his look of incomprehension. "Hey, Finnick, tell him."  
"The Chargers," said Finnick, walking up. "They work the rackets around here. Can't do any construction work without giving them their share." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "It's big money, if you know what I mean."  
"Mobsters?" said Hunter, annoyed. "I ain't paying off mobsters. I owe Nick and Judy a new carpet."  
Through such subtle hints as hand drawn signs with arrows pointing at concrete which had hardened into the fibers, Hunter had been made aware that his drop cloth solution had been far from perfect. Brochures left on the kitchen table seemed to indicate that neon signs were next.  
Burrows shrugged. "Sorry. They saw the money truck and had to take their cut."  
Hunter narrowed his eyes. "Where can I find them?"  
"They're rhinos, Hunter," said Finnick warningly. "You may be a big mammal where you come from, but they'll pound you into paste. And they got big friends, get my meaning?"  
"Friends, eh?" Hunter smiled. "So do I. So where do I find them?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What's Tavi doing here? She's supposed to be on leave still."  
Bogo had stopped by the front desk, and had happened to glance at the security monitor which showed the roof. Clawhauser glanced up at him. "Oh, she came to see Shepherd."  
"Shepherd?" The water buffalo gave the monitor a confused glance. "Who's Shepherd?"  
Then the massive form of a heavily armored, black-painted vehicle came into the camera's view.  
"The tank," said Clawhauser helpfully.  
"Oh." Another figure could be seen. Bogo squinted. "That's Hunter. He's not supposed to be on the premises."  
"Um, he must have slipped by."  
The Chief shook his head. "See that he gets an escort off the station's property."  
They watched the tank roll up to Tavi, then away as Hunter approached. "I really need to do something about those two," muttered Bogo.  
"What? I think they're kinda cute."  
"Cute? It's completely inappropriate."  
"Well, I know there's a bit of a size difference," said Clawhauser defensively, "But they get along really well together."  
"A bit of a size difference? Come on, Benjamin, Tavi could literally fit inside."  
Clawhauser's eyes went wide. He suddenly shook himself as if ridding his mind of a particularly vivid mental image. "Um, well, I don't think that would be something they would do-"  
Bogo shook his head decisively. "Can't have them working patrol together. What would the citizens say?"  
"Well, maybe they'd think it was a good example of interspecies cooperation."  
For a long moment, Bogo stared at him. "Tavi and the tank?"  
Clawhauser hesitated. "What?"  
"I was talking about Tavi and the tank. She can't have that thing following her around everywhere." Bogo's eyes narrowed. "What were you talking about?"  
"Uh, the same thing."  
"Right," he said dubiously. "What aren't you telling me, Clawhauser? Is there some rumor flying around?"  
"Er- sorry chief, I think someone just called me on the radio." Clawhauser seized the mike. "Dispatch to Thirty Eight Golf, go ahead with your traffic."  
The radio crackled. "I didn't say anything."  
"No, I'm sure you said you had something urgent enough for me to have to talk to you, but not so urgent that the chief has to hang around and waste his valuable time listening to," said Clawhauser, studiously avoiding Bogo's gaze.  
"Um, did I?" said the radio.  
"Yes."  
"I don't remember saying that."  
"Well, I'll stand by until you remember what it was." He glanced at Bogo then. "Sorry, chief, very busy."  
Bogo snorted dismissively and walked away.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter walked up to Tavi. "Hey, rookie."  
She gave him a surprised look. "I thought you weren't supposed to be on the station's premises."  
"Yeah, they shouldn't have put Clawhauser in charge of enforcing that. A few donuts and I walked right on through." He turned and watched the tank, which was racing across the roof towards them. "Still have your pet tank, I see."  
"His name is Shepherd." The tank, hovering a few feet above the ground, came to a stop in front of them. Hunter noticed that while the machine guns had been removed, there was a small manipulating arm that could be extruded from an external port.  
Which was currently holding a red ball. The tank dropped the ball in front of Tavi and backed up.  
Tavi picked up the ball and tossed it. The tank whipped around and sped after it.  
Hunter watched this in bemusement. "Tavi?"  
"Yes?"  
"Are you playing fetch with the tank?"  
"He likes it," said Tavi. "He says it allows him to calibrate his target acquisition, interception, and neutralization skills, as well as fine-tune the operation of that manipulating arm."  
"Oh."  
The tank raced back and dropped the ball near Tavi again. She looked up at Hunter. "So why are you breaking regs to come see me?"  
"Well, first of all, I figured I should see how you're doing."  
She shrugged. "Still kind of shook up. That was a hard first few months of police work."  
"It's usually not like that."  
"Is it better? Or worse?"  
Hunter looked away. "Mostly better." He hesitated. "Sometimes worse," he admitted.  
The mongoose looked down. "Oh."  
The tank swiveled to face each one of them. "Please continue the exercise, Commander," it said, eagerly.  
"Sorry, Shepherd, I think that's enough for today."  
"But-"  
"Exercise concluded," said Tavi firmly. "I'll come and see you again tomorrow."  
"Acknowledged," said the tank sadly. It drifted off a bit, idly swiveling to track a few passing birds.  
Hunter watched it. "Actually, there is something else."  
The tank swung around to face him, as Tavi looked up at him again. "What's that?" she asked.  
"I was wondering if you could help me with something."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Raymond Charger was walking his route along the shop fronts of Mouston Street. He riffled through the wad of bills he had collected, secretly enjoying the nervous looks of passersby. Nearly five thousand so far- the boss would be pleased. Since the boss was his father, that was particularly good.  
He was about to enter his next stop, a little fish and chips shop that was slightly behind on payments, when an unfamiliar type of mammal stepped out in front of him. Raymond stared at him.  
Hairless, except for some on the very top of his head, with a dark pelt. Raymond was not up on current events, but after a moment even he recognized a human. Weren't they all kicked out of Terra? He seemed to remember something vaguely like that. He looked down at the smaller mammal. Humans were about average size for a mammal, which made them much smaller than a rhino like him.  
"You're in my way," he rumbled warningly.  
The human just looked him up and down before meeting his eyes. "You owe me money."  
Raymond snorted in disbelief. "I don't think so."  
"Five hundred."  
The rhino rolled his eyes. "I don't owe nobody no five hundred thousand, and I don't carry that kind of dough around with me anyway. Get the hell outta my way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter sighed. "It's not five hundred thousand, you moron, I mean five hundred dollars."  
The mobster squinted at him. "Five hundred dollars?"  
"Do I need to write it down or something? Yeah. Five hundred. Five zero zero."  
"You're trying to shake down a Charger for five hundred dollars? I don't even get out of bed for that sort of money." The rhino shifted irritably, apparently starting to get bored with the conversation.  
Unfazed, Hunter just shrugged. "Then you won't mind paying me what you owe. You took it from my employer, so he couldn't pay me what he owed. That makes you responsible."  
"Listen, little mammal. I don't have time for these games. Step aside, or I'm gonna walk right over you."  
"You don't want to do that." Hunter set his feet.  
"Oh? Now you're threatening me?" The rhino lowered his head so the thick horn on the end of his muzzle was pointing towards Hunter. "I don't care who you think you are. You know who I work for? Who my friends are?"  
"Look, as happy and surprised as I am to hear you have friends," said Hunter with an exaggerated yawn, "I don't have time for games, either. Just pay me what you owe and I won't have to get nasty."  
The rhino chuckled. "I'm actually curious. What are you gonna do?"  
"In answer, let me just say this. Say hello to my little friend."  
On cue, Tavi stepped out from behind him.  
The rhino stared down at her.  
"Hello," she said cheerily.  
The rhino looked her over, then back up at Hunter, confusion on his face. "I still don't get it."  
"Well, it turns out she has friends, too."  
From behind the rhino, a robotic voice spoke. "Target acquired."  
The rhino spun around and stared at the armored plating of a King Cobra Light Battle Tank. His eyes widened as it swiveled to face him fully.  
"If I were you, I wouldn't let anyone know you let a tank sneak up on you," said Tavi from behind him.  
"Hover tanks can be remarkably quiet, but yeah, it wouldn't look good on the ol' resume," put in Hunter.  
"Threat detected. Initiating neutralization procedures," said Shepherd the battle tank.  
The rhino turned to run, but was seized by the manipulator arm of the tank, which promptly hauled him into the air. Tavi and Hunter watched impassively as the tank raised him well above the ground.  
"Are lethal measures authorized?" asked the tank.  
"No!" said Tavi quickly as the rhino whimpered.  
"Just turn him upside down," said Hunter. The tank complied, the rhino squealing in terror as the world rotated. "Okay, now shake him."  
Coins, keys, two cell phones and a fair amount of cash fell to the ground as the rhino was shaken up and down. A few passersby stared. Hunter glanced at them, then decided to ignore it. He walked over and gathered up some of the cash. "Let's see, four hundred, four hundred twenty, forty, sixty, eighty- and five hundred." He looked up at the still vibrating rhino. "You can stop now, Shepherd."  
"Acknowledged." The tank kept hold of the rhino, but held him still. Raymond's eyes were wide and he looked a bit ill.  
Hunter tucked the cash back into his pocket. "Okay, pleasure doing business with you. Drop him, Shepherd."  
The rhino crashed to the ground, and Hunter leaned over him to look him in the eye. "Next time, you ask if I need protection before you take money for it, got it?"  
The rhino's eyes flicked to the tank, then back to Hunter. He nodded vigorously.  
"Because if I don't need protection, it means you probably will." He stepped back as the rhino shakily got to his feet, gathering up the belongings scattered onto the ground. "Now beat feet."  
The rhino, with one last wary look at the tank, took off at a lumbering run.  
Several store owners had come out to watch the commotion. One of them walked up to Hunter. "Is he gone?"  
Tavi nodded as she watched the rhino round the corner. "Looks like it."  
The shopkeeper seized Hunter's hand with his paw. "I don't know who you are, but thank you! They've been taking from us for years! If you want anything from the store, anything at all-"  
Nervously, Hunter pulled his hand free. "Look, I'm not- I was just getting my money back-"  
"But, but- look, if you want me to pay you- I mean, anyone would be better than the Chargers-"  
"Now wait a minute," said Hunter. "It's not like that. Look, I'll, um, I'll see what I can do, okay? But you don't have to pay me."  
"Well, okay," said the shopkeeper dubiously. "But if there's anything I can do-"  
"Just- look, they may be back. Don't stick your neck out." Shaking off the other businessmammals trying to thank him, Hunter walked away.  
Tavi scampered to keep up with him. He slowed his pace a bit so she could stay with him.  
"We have to help them," she said after a moment.  
"Why?"  
"Because we're the police, Hunter! It's what we do!"  
"You may be, Tavi, but in case you didn't notice, I'm suspended. I've still got almost half a year before I can do anything for them." He looked down at her sharply. "And it's way too much of a mess for you to stick your nose in, so don't even think about it."  
"But-"  
"I'm not a cop right now, Tavi." He glanced back at the shopkeepers, who were huddled in a silent mass watching them go. "I'm just a guy trying to get by. Not my circus, not my monkeys."  
"Monkeys?"  
"Never mind."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick answered his phone. "Finnick?"

"Yo, Nick, you need to talk to your friend."

"What friend?"

"You don't have that many anymore, Nick. Hunter. He's gone and put himself right in the frying pan."

Nick sighed. "What'd he do now?"

"You ever hear of a gang called the Chargers?"

Nick tilted his head back, thinking. "Small time family gang, right? Rhinos? What about them?"

"Not so small time now, Nicky. They hooked up with Mr. Big, run the rackets around Mouston."

"Oh, really? So what's that got to do with Hunter?"

"He shook down one of their enforcers in broad daylight."

There was a pause. "What?"

Finnick's voice was smug. "Gotta admire his guts. Can't say as much for his brains. Yeah, he lost a cut of his pay from that construction gig I set up for him, and instead of being smart, he got clever."

"You didn't bother to warn him?" said Nick, annoyed.

"Oh, I tried. Figured he pick up what I was laying down. Anyway, you know how Mr. Big's organization treats someone who humiliates one of their mammals like that."

Nick thought about an icy river running under a mansion in Tundratown. "Yeah. Well, thanks for the heads-up."

"I'm going to lay low for a while. Think you oughta do the same," said Finnick. "Maybe get out of town for a bit."

"Actually was kinda planning on it already..."

"Then take that crazy human mammal with you."

"Um, that's not really on the cards-"

"Whatever. I gotta go." There was a click as Finnick hung up.

Nick drummed his fingers on the table in front of him.

He was already nervous about meeting Judy's parents, and while he liked Hunter, he had to admit the man was an acquired taste. He tried to imagine Hunter meeting a bunch of country bunnies, and his mind threw up an "Error" message and shut down.

Of course, he got the same message when he thought of himself meeting the Hopps.

On second thought...

Notes: A quick note about the "monkeys?" comment- I read that the film's makers didn't include primate mammals because they were too human-like. Since a lot of the fun for me in this has been trying to write a consistent back-story that accounts for the various setting elements in interesting ways, I decided to run with this. I plan to go further into whatever made sentience in mammals occur in more detail later, quite possibly in the next major story arc (though I'm still working that one out). Once again, Erinnyes01 has been incredibly helpful in editing and even suggesting some wording changes. The joke about how Judy "subtly" let Hunter know about his error involving the concrete and the carpet was completely Erinnyes01's work, and I thought it was quite clever. It also dovetailed nicely with one of the themes of the piece, so that's even better. Thanks again! Oh, and playing fetch with the tank is probably one of my favorite parts in this whole story-line.


	26. Short Story Chap 3

Judy walked in the apartment carrying some groceries to find a very pensive fox sitting at the table. She set the bags down, the thump startling him. He looked at her and gave her a smile. "Hey, Fluff."

"Hey, Nick." She eyed him suspiciously as she started to unload the groceries into the fridge. She'd been around him long enough to read him pretty well, and currently he had the contained and careful look that meant he had some sort of plan. "You looked thoughtful."

"Well, I got a call from Finnick."

She frowned at him. "Okay." A thought struck her. "He's not trying to rope you into some scheme again, is he?"

The fox waved away the suggestion as he started to help her with the groceries. "No, no. It seems Hunter may have done something crazy."

Judy relaxed. "Oh, is that all? How crazy on a scale of one to purple?"

"Um, maybe a light chartreuse."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe we should come up with a clearer scale. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it seems he shook down a mobster in broad daylight."

She paused as she was putting a bag of carrots into the refrigerator. "He what?"

"They apparently took some of the money he was making- part of a protection racket thing."

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers. How bad is it?"

"Well, the guy he shook down is part of a gang that works for Mr. Big's organization."

She covered her eyes with her paw. "Just once, I'd like for things to be normal." She shook her head. "Maybe I can talk to Mr. Big, get it sorted out-"

"I dunno. Sounds like they're pretty mad at him. As in, even if Mr. Big is willing to let it go- which I kinda doubt- the gang itself will still go after him. Finnick says he ought to leave town for awhile."

"Leave town? He doesn't have any money or anywhere to go! The only mammals he really knows well are us and Tavi, and her family lives in the city."

Nick carefully avoided her eyes. "Well, I mean, we are going out of town-"

"What?" Judy turned to stare at him. "You're not seriously suggesting he goes with us?"

"Well, why not? He doesn't have to be around all the time or anything. He can go see the sights or something."

Judy grimaced. "Look, I don't know what you expect from Bunnyburrow, but we're not exactly a major tourist destination."

Nick spread his paws helplessly. "I don't know what else to do."

Judy looked at him suspiciously. "You're not being entirely honest with me."

"What?" Nick's ears went back.

"You want him to go with us."

"Well, yeah-"

"No," said Judy, advancing on him, "not just as a way to get him out of town. You have some sort of plan."

Nick's eyes widened. "Oh, come on, Carrots, it's not like I arranged for him to tick off the biggest criminal organization in the city."

"Oh, really? Maybe he learned that knack from you."

"You're never going to let me live down the skunk rug thing, are you?"

With a sigh, Judy sat down, thinking. "Can you imagine how my parents will react to Hunter? I know him and still sometimes think he's nuts."

"Actually, the more you get to know him, the more you realize he really __is__ nuts."

"Not helping, Nick."

The fox sighed and sat down next to her. "He'll be fine. We'll keep him busy somehow. I mean, how much trouble can he get into?"

The door opened and Hunter walked in, noticing them immediately. "Oh, hey. If you guys want to say hi to Tavi, better hurry. The apartment manager isn't happy about her parking the tank in the parking lot so she's got to get going." He walked past towards his room.

"Parking the tank?" said Nick and Judy simultaneously.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter frowned at his friends. "So Mr. Big's entire organization will be after me?"

Nick shrugged. "Maybe just the Chargers. Carrots will try to put in a good word for you with Mr. Big, but-"

"Yeah, independent contractors gonna be independent." He thought it over. "Well, not much I can do about it now. An apology probably won't go too far."

"Well, it's probably best for you to leave town for a while," said Nick.

Tavi, who had finally gotten Shepherd to go "home" to the station, nodded. "I can't follow you around with the tank forever. We get too many weird looks."

Hunter looked at her. "Did you call the Organized Crime Unit like I asked?"

"Yeah," she said. An irritated expression crossed her face. "They were pretty condescending. I doubt they're going to go to much trouble."

Hunter patted her sympathetically. "Don't think a rookie has anything useful to say, huh?"

She sighed. "You'd think having a pet tank would make them more likely to listen."

"It would for me," muttered Nick.

Tavi grinned. "Relax, Nick, Shepherd would never hurt you." She paused. "Unless he perceives you as a threat to me." Another pause. "Or I give him a direct command."

Nick frowned at her. "Which you would never do."

She nodded, an impish smile on her face. "Right, right."

Nick eyed her suspiciously.

"So anyway," said Hunter, "I guess I need to find somewhere to go. Any ideas?"

Nick looked at Judy. After a long moment, the bunny sighed. "Well, Nick and I were going to visit Bunnyburrow..."

"Right, but where should I- now wait a minute."

"It'll be fine, Hunter," said Nick urgently. "It's out in the country-" he gave a vague wave in a direction that was, as it happened, almost the exact opposite of the direction of Judy's home "-with lots of great things- clean air, fresh food, and uh..." his imagination failed him.

"My family," said Judy, frowning at him.

"Yes! So anyone that isn't a bunny will stand out! If they come looking for you, then we'll know right away!" With a satisfied smile, Nick sat back.

Hunter gave him a level look. "Anyone that isn't a rabbit will stand out?"

"Right!"

The human pointed at his chest with a thumb. "Do I look like a bunny, Nick?"

"Well, no. On the other paw, it's not like there's anywhere on Terra you can blend in."

Hunter cocked his head, thinking. "It occurs to me that you aren't a bunny, Nick."

The fox raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Zach, how long did it take you to work that out?"

"And so you being there will result in a lot of attention." Judy suddenly began looking thoughtful as Hunter continued. "And so if there's an even bigger mammal that's out of place, maybe some of that attention will be on me, and not on you."

Nick squirmed uncomfortably as Judy and Hunter both looked at him. "Well, hey, that's a good point, now that you mention it-"

Judy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Nick, it's not that big a deal. You don't have to come up with a cunning plan for everything, you know."

"That's what I do," said Hunter.

"That's true. Hey, Hunter, how long is left on your suspension?" said Judy, with a slight touch of asperity.

Hunter paused. "Okay, point taken."

"Well, if Hunter is going, maybe I should go too," said Tavi.

They all turned to look at her. Nick and Judy shared a glance. They still weren't sure what to make of the nature of Tavi's...friendship...with Hunter. Whether she hero-worshipped him, viewed him as a mentor, or had some other inclination was the cause of rampant speculation at the station. "Why?" asked Judy carefully.

"Because I still have a lot of leave until they decide to let me go back to work. Because you guys are my friends. And mostly because Hunter needs someone around to keep him out of trouble."

"Hey!" protested Hunter. "You're the rookie! I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble, not the other way around!"

"Wow, that ship hasn't just sailed, it's sunk with all hands," said Nick.

Hunter frowned at him. "You know, most of the time my cunning plans work." He looked back down at Tavi. "Besides, who says I'm going?"

There was a knock at the window. The third floor window.

Everyone turned to look.

Shepherd the tank hovered outside the window. "Apologies, Commander, I know I was supposed to return to base, but this being was tampering with Officer Hunter's vehicle." The tank's manipulating arm rose into view, holding a terrified rhinoceros, the mammal's eyes bugged as he stared fixedly at the ground below. "I believe he was trying to affix an explosive device to the undercarriage."

They all looked to Hunter. He sighed.

"Fine. When do we leave?"

Notes: Bit of a short chapter- I'll try and post the next one soon. Still working out some things- it's moving along, but I'm revising the plot as I go in some ways. Means I don't want to post too much- I may go back and change bits here and there.


	27. Short Story Chap 4

"So let me get this straight," said Alfie Charger, the patriarch and current head of the Chargers gang. "You got rolled by a human and a mongoose in broad daylight."

"And a tank!" protested Raymond. "They treated me like a super-spy's martini!"

There were blank looks, which he found disappointing. He had worked on that one all day. "You know, shaken, not stir-"

Standing in one corner of the office, there was a cough from a slightly built, well-dressed wallaby. "I think we understand the joke, Raymond."

The rhinos in the room all looked at him- some with veiled hostility, though all with some degree of respect. The wallaby was Petro Gale, Mr. Big's consigliere. It would not do to annoy him, though some of the gang had a not-so-secret desire to not be under Big's tiny thumb. Gale continued.

"The organization cannot stand to be shown this level of disrespect in public, gentlemammals. At the same time, we find ourselves in the position of angering not only the police, but possibly many others if we punish Hunter- he is something of a hero."

"It's a dilemma," said Raymond, who had heard the word recently and thought he'd try it out.

Gale glanced at him. "Indeed." He narrowed his eyes. "One you put us in, Raymond."

The rhino quailed at the wallaby's measuring look. "How was I supposed to know-"

"You're supposed to know everything about your territory, Raymond!" shouted Alfie, slamming a massive fist onto his desk. Everyone except the supremely self-confident Gale jumped at the sudden display of anger. "You should never have shaken down Hunter in the first place!"

"What's done is done. I leave the internal discipline of your organization to you, Mr. Charger," said Gale smoothly to Alfie. "Naturally, we are willing to help you with this- dilemma."

Alfie hesitated. "Of course. I count Mr. Big as one of my greatest friends."

"Yes, of course. And friends help one another, as my employer likes to say." Gale leaned forward. "We'll solve this little problem for you. In return, well-" he spread his paws. "As you say. Friends help one another."

Alfie bowed his head. "I'm always ready to help the organization."

Raymond shuddered as Alfie looked at him. "Everyone leave except for Raymond and Mr. Gale."

The rest of the rhinos filed out, most shooting Raymond speculative looks as he squirmed nervously on his chair.

When the door shut behind the last of them, Alfie spoke. "You need to make this right, Raymond."

"Yes, dad," he replied eagerly. Then he paused. "Um, how?"

Gale sighed. "How do you think? Kill Hunter."

"But I thought you said if we did that, we'd get the ZPD on our tails."

"Not if they don't know for sure we did it." Alfie glared at his son. "So you need to be smart about it, and we can't give you any direct help."

"I have to do it alone?"

"We're going to give you the number to a few friends of ours," said Gale. "They are discreet, efficient, and very well connected."

Raymond considered that. "You know he has a tank."

"It doesn't follow him around all the time. Besides, they have ways to deal with that, too." Gale cocked his head, considering the young rhino. "Are you not up to it?"

Raymond shook his head vigorously, then reconsidered and started nodding equally vigorously. "No, sir- I mean, yes, sir, I can do it."

"Good. Then get to it. Oh, and don't harm Ms. Hopps. The boss has a soft spot for her."

"What about the fox or the mongoose?"

Gale waved a paw negligently. "They aren't targets, but if they get in the way- well, they should have chosen better friends."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After Raymond left, Alfie stared pensively at the seat where he had been sitting. "He's my son."

"And you are like a son to Mr. Big," said Gale soothingly. "But it must be this way."

"I don't see Mr. Big having his children killed."

"You'd be surprised. The family comes first, of course, and we think of you as family. But what do you do if the family turns against itself?" Gale stood up, looking steadily into the rhino's eyes. "It's a terrible thing, for a family to fall apart like that."

After a long moment, Alfie looked away. "Maybe he could just, I don't know, go away somwhere after it's done."

"Hunter is strange, but he's not some corrupt cop that ZPD will shrug away as getting what he had coming to him. They'll need their vengeance- or a body." Gale gave a sorrowful shake of his head. "Too many things are going on, Mr. Charger. The humans coming back. The appearance of guns in large numbers on the streets. The possibility of _war_. We wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't necessary."

Alfie glared at him. "Ask me? You're asking me?"

Gale smiled slightly, but said nothing. He nodded respectfully and hopped down from his chair. "Until next time, Mr. Charger."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The train sped along, the windows displaying a remarkable view of Zootopia- the verdant greenery of the Rainforest District, the massive glaciers of Tundratown, and the glittering modernist skyscrapers comprising much of the downtown area.

Tavi stood on her seat, entranced. "I've never seen the city like this before, and I grew up here!"

Hunter cracked open an eye. "Cities are all the same. Shiny on the outside, all grime and grit when you get close."

She gave him an annoyed glance. "Why are you so cynical all the time?"

"Practice."

"You know, a cynic is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing."

"So a cynic would win big in _The Price is Right?_ "

Tavi frowned. "The show that used to be hosted by the wolf that's always in those vasectomy clinic commercials?" A thought struck her. "Hey, isn't his name Bob Barker? Is he any relation to Ruth?"

"No. And don't ask her that, she gets annoyed."

"How do you know?"

"Never mind."

The sliding door of the compartment opened and Judy's head appeared. "There you are!"

Hunter frowned at her. "Yes, in our compartment. Who would have guessed?"

Judy's smile wavered, just slightly. "You're in a good mood."

"I am trying to sleep." He leaned back and closed his eyes, shutting the other two out.

Judy opened her mouth as if to say something, but then looked at Tavi. "Hey, Anila, can I borrow you for a minute?"

Outside the compartment, Judy rounded on the mongoose. "You have to help me."

Confused, Tavi nodded. "Sure, anything. What's wrong?"

"I need to tell Hunter to- you know, tone it down a bit for my parents. They have a lot to get used to, and if he's being, um..."

"Hunter?" suggested Tavi helpfully.

"Yes- if he's being Hunter around them, I'm afraid they'll think all of my friends are-" she stopped again, at another loss for words.

"Hunteresque?" said Tavi.

Judy closed her eyes. "Let's hope that's never a real word." She opened them again, looked at Tavi. "Do you think you can talk to him a bit? I mean, if I said it he might think I was being overly critical and not trusting him. But if you can sort of hint around it, he might just think you're trying to help me out."

Tavi considered this. "Which I would be."

"Right!"

"Do you think he'll listen to me?"

There was a pause. "Sure," said Judy with forced confidence.

Tavi eyed her, but shrugged. "What should I say?"

"Well, maybe warn him against certain topics, maybe not joke about things, maybe not mention the really dangerous situations we've been in, maybe-"

"Hang on, I should probably write this down," said Tavi, patting her pockets for a pen and notebook.

"Oh, I already did." Judy pulled out two closely written pages and handed it to her. "Here."

Tavi gingerly took the pages and glanced over them. "Dietary habits from Alphacen?" she read. She looked at Judy questioningly.

"Humans eat meat, you know. He's usually pretty good about not mentioning it, but just in case."

"The dropbear incident?" Tavi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What dropbear incident?"

"Oh, that was before your time-"

"And what's a dropbear?"

"It's a bear that drops from a height on unsuspecting passersby."

"What? I've never heard of such a thing."

"Search 'koala bandit' on the police database when you get back home," suggested Judy, exasperated. "If you really want to know."  
Tavi frowned. "Do I?"

"No."

Folding up the papers, Tavi tucked it into her pocket. "Okay, fine. I'll see what I can do." She looked around. "Where's Nick?"

Judy stared. "Oh, cheese and crackers. I forgot about Nick."

"What do you mean, forgot about him?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So how long have you and my daughter been in a relationship, exactly?" asked Stuart suspiciously over the phone.

Nick covered his paws with his eyes. Judy had hurriedly handed the phone over to him in mid-conversation, and told him he would just have to speak with her parents for a couple of minutes.

That had been nearly ten minutes ago.

"Oh, well, it depends on what you mean by relationship, exactly- I mean, we've been partners for a couple of years."

He heard Judy's mother Bonnie mutter something shocked in the background and winced. "I mean police partners, of course. We didn't become 'partners' until later."

"How much later?"

"It would have been just after the bomb on the train incident, when- hello?"

There had been a shocked gasp and then a clatter. After a few fumbles, Stuart's voice, considerably less calm, came back on the line. "Bomb on the train?"

"Uh-"

"Jude never mentioned a bomb on a train!" said Stuart, his voice rising slightly.

"Oh, so- can't- hear- going through- tunnel," said Nick, rubbing his paw over the mouthpiece. "Call- back."

He tapped the "End Call" button and sat back in his seat with a sigh.

The phone immediately started ringing. He turned it off.

"You can't just ignore them forever, you know," said a voice.

He turned. "Hey, Carrots. I thought you'd just be a few minutes," he said, his tone faintly accusatory.

"Sorry. I was trying to find a way to tell Hunter not to be crazy."

Nick nodded. "Okay, yeah, I can see why that would take a while."

She hopped onto the seat next to him and snuggled close. "Anyway, what I was saying was that you can't just keep putting off talking to my folks."

Nick put his arm around her but leaned back, his eyes on the ceiling. "No, but I kinda want you around with me when I do have to start answering these difficult questions."

"They'll probably get you alone at some point," she said. At his annoyed look, she sighed. "I'll try to minimize the time they have to give you the third degree, but you have to be prepared. I'm sorry."

Nick sighed. "Well, it actually did go okay up until I mentioned the bomb that blew up the train-"

"You told them about the bomb?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stuart Hopps glared at the phone. "Still no answer."

"Well, maybe it's just a bad connection," said Bonnie, her tone unconvinced.

"He said tunnel, Bonnie. There aren't any tunnels between here and Zootopia by train." Stuart shook his head. "Typical fox-"

"Stuart!"

"I'm just saying-" began Stuart, his ears lying back.

"You get along just fine with Gideon!"

"He's a country fox! He's basically just one of us!" said Stuart. "But city foxes-"

Bonnie glared at her husband, and he glanced away. "He's probably just nervous, Stu. Let the boy have some time to get used to us."

"He should have had time already," said Stuart doggedly, avoiding his wife's eyes. "And why didn't Judy tell us about this?"

"Well..."

Decisively, Stuart began punching in another number into the phone. "I think we should be on the safe side here."

"Who are you calling?"

"Andy. He can meet up with us at the train station."

"Stuart, you're overreacting."

"It's our daughter, Bonnie. Better safe than sorry." The phone rang, and then there was a click as someone answered.  
"Sheriff's office."

"Hey, Sheriff? It's Stuart. Look, I wonder if you could do us a little favor..."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tavi cleared her throat.

Hunter let out a snore.

Tavi coughed. When there was no response, she coughed louder. Finally, she jumped up onto the seat next to Hunter and poked him. "Are you asleep?"

He shifted slightly, but showed no other signs of being awake.

She poked him again. "Hey, Hunter, you awake? Zach? Are you asleep?" She nearly shouted the last question.

Hunter cracked an eye open. "What is it, rookie?"

"I was just seeing if you were asleep."

"Yes." He settled himself and closed his eyes again.

"Because I thought we should talk about something."

Hunter opened his eyes and sighed as he looked down at her. "Are you going to let me sleep if I don't talk to you?"

"Nope."

"Fine. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was just thinking- Judy's under a lot of stress."

Hunter nodded with ill-concealed impatience. "Yep."

"And I think she's a little nervous about her parents meeting us." Tavi flicked her tail nervously as Hunter regarded her for a moment.

"You mean me," he said, eventually.

"No! Well, yes- and everyone else. Nick, and me, and you. So yes, you, but also others, including, um-"

Hunter held up a hand to stop her. "Let me guess. She wants me to tone it down a bit."

"Um, well, I don't really know if she wants to, exactly."

"So this was your idea," said Hunter flatly.

"Uh-"

"Do you know when you try to lie your ears lay back and your tail twitches?" She grabbed her tail nervously as he continued. "Maybe I should have become a professional gambler," he said thoughtfully. "Terran mammals have all kinds of tells."

"Look, yes, she did sort of ask me to ask you."

Hunter sighed. "Fine, fine. Anything in particular I should avoid?"

Tavi held up two pages of notebook paper. "Actually, she made this list!" said the mongoose brightly.

Hunter stared at her. He looked from her face to the list, then took it from her. He read it, his face darkening.

"The dropbear incident? What am I, five? I know better than to bring that up in polite conversation. I don't even talk to other cops about that, not since that Vice detective nearly lost his lunch."

"Um."

"Who the hell does she think she is, my mother?" He continued reading, his expression becoming grimmer and grimmer.

Slowly, Tavi began to realize she may have made a mistake.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick stared at Judy in astonishment. "How could they not have known about the train with the bomb on it? We got an award for that! They were at the ceremony!"

Judy was pacing back and forth in frustration. "The exact details were classified because of the diplomatic stuff!"

"But- you didn't tell them?"

"They worry too much already! What am I supposed to do, say, 'Oh, by the way, mom, I nearly got blown up and then was kidnapped and threatened with death by a psychotic bureaucrat!'"

Nick shook his head. "Well, no, but- they didn't ask or guess why we got that award?"

"No! They didn't ask. I think they hoped I did some particularly heroic filing or something."

The fox hopped down from his seat. "Carrots, I know you're trying to protect them from being worried, but you kind of need to tell them about this sort of thing."

She rounded on him, one paw gripping her ear angrily. "Why? They didn't want to know!"

"Yeah, but- I mean, better to find out from you then-" he stopped.

"Better to find out from me than you, Nick?" she snapped. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"I didn't know they didn't know!"

"You didn't ask me!"

Nick's eyes widened, as his initial bewilderment gave way to anger. "How was I supposed to know that I was supposed to ask you? Carrots, you're not making any sense." He glared down at her. "And besides, if you hadn't just handed me the phone to go run around, I wouldn't have been in that position in the first place!"

She stabbed a finger at him. "You just don't want to talk to them at all, Nick! They're my family, and I love them. If you want me, you're going to have to deal with them, too."

"Oh?" shouted Nick. "And what if they're not willing to deal with me? Is that going to be it for us?"

Judy stared at him, her eyes wide. He winced inwardly as he saw the unshed tears in her eyes, his heart skipping a beat.

Nick hesitated.

Before he could decide what to do, she turned and walked out of the compartment.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Raymond eyed the mysterious mammals- who had introduced themselves only as "the cleaners"- nervously. "So, um, you work for Mr. Big?" he asked.

The mammal stroked his whiskers. " _With_ Mr. Big," he said with a slight, supercilious accent. "We are, how do you say, independent contractors?"

The rhino nodded vigorously. "Yep, that's how you say it."

The "cleaner" rolled his eyes. "You have the location of the target?"

Raymond nodded again. "Yeah, I called my cousin Oscar, who called his buddy Tony, who called McHorn who works at ZPD, and-"

"You have the location?" interrupted the hitmammal, polishing his claws on the front of his shirt with a bored look. "That's all we need to know."

"Yeah. He went to Bunnyburrow."

"Bunnyburrow?" said the mammal in surprise. "How strange."

"Well, Hopps is from there, I think- that's what the papers say-" after his mistake with Hunter, Raymond had gained a new appreciation for the value of current events- "-so he probably went there to lay low with her family."

"Well, this contract should be quite easy," said the cleaner. "It is a small town, little crime. They will not be looking for us." He grinned. "Of course, so few mammals are."

The other cleaners laughed.

Raymond chuckled along with them, though unconvincingly. "Though there are likely to be a bunch of bunnies around. You know how they are."

The hitmammal shrugged. "It is, how do you say?" He paused, then smiled, showing sharp, predatory teeth.

"Collateral damage."

Notes: So yeah, Judy is acting a little irrational and perhaps a bit out-of-character. Remember, she's under a hell of a lot of stress- not only Nick meeting her parents, but all the events of Hunter and Hunted. Don't worry, she'll come around eventually. While Stu is less paranoid about foxes, it made sense to me that he might view "city foxes" as different than Gideon- this is a sadly common way people change their prejudices, by making exceptions, changing the terms, and only gradually realizing that the entire stereotype is wrong. Also it's a useful source of conflict, which is needed for an interesting story. Apologies for how long this is taking me. Work should lighten up a bit soon, and hopefully I'll be able to work more quickly. 


	28. Short Story Chapter 5

As the train pulled into the station, Stuart Hopps watched the doors carefully.

The usual batch of mammals came out first- mostly bunnies who had decided to take a quick trip to the city. A few were in business clothing, but most wore the casual clothing of tourists. They hopped off the train, joking and reminiscing over whatever they had been doing in the city.

Most of them seemed to be talking about clubs, bars, and other things that made Stuart shift uncomfortably. Sure, he and Bonnie had their wild days, but the thought of Judy going to the city- but surely being a police officer kept her out of that sort of mess.

Then they saw her.

She was wearing a light blue shirt and jeans, her ears laid back forlornly.

"She doesn't look happy," murmured Bonnie worriedly.

"Long trip," said Stuart, though he knew it was something else.

Fortunately, when she saw them, her eyes lit up. "Mom! Dad!" The bunny rushed to meet them, pulling them both into a hug. "I've missed you!"

"Hey, Jude the dude!" Stuart hugged her back, hard. All the worry they'd had- including, most recently, over what the damned fox had said- went out as he squeezed her and Bonnie. "It's good to see you back!"

Bonnie pulled back and inspected her critically. "What happened here?" she asked softly, tracing a light scar on Judy's neck.

"It's nothing- just scratched it at work," said Judy hurriedly. She glanced back at the train. "Hey, Tavi!"

A small gray mongoose flashed a smile as she scampered up. "Hello! You must be Judy's parents. My name's Anila!"

They shook paws. "So you work with Judy at ZPD?" said Stuart, eyeing her. "What's it like?"

"Oh, you know- writing tickets, doing paperwork mostly," said Tavi.

"Is that all you do?" asked Bonnie suspiciously.

"Um." She surreptitiously glanced at a piece of notebook paper in her paw. "Mostly."

"Sure, but there was that whole Night Howler thing-"

Tavi was starting to look a bit wide-eyed. "Oh, that was before I came on."

"And everybody heard about the Raid a month or two ago, that big shoot-out with the humans," continued Bonnie.

"Mom!" Judy shot Tavi a warning look. "We can talk about that later."

Stuart and his wife traded a look, both feeling a bit ashamed. It was just that, well, Judy didn't talk so much about work. Maybe before it had been because she didn't enjoy it and felt underappreciated, but now-

"Sorry, Tavi. Welcome to Bunnyburrow."

The mongoose looked relieved. "Thanks, Mrs. Hopps."

"Oh, just call me Bonnie. And this is Stuart."

Her husband was already watching the train's door again. "So where is your- where's Nick?"

Judy's ears went back, and this time Stuart saw suppressed anger. "He's coming," she said tightly.

Both her parents studied her. "Is everything okay?" asked Stuart, his voice taking on an unaccustomed edge.

"Yes, it's fine," she said, her voice controlled. She glanced back. "There he is now. And Hunter," she added, a faint note of trepidation in her tone.

Stuart's eyes widened as he took in the pair of mammals.

The fox was not entirely unexpected- he'd seen plenty of foxes in his time, though this one was far slimmer than Gideon. Dressed casually in slacks and an untucked shirt, his eyes hidden by sunglasses, Nick looked to Stuart more or less like he envisioned him. A smooth-talking city fox.

The human was something else.

He'd never seen a human in real life before, like the vast majority of Terrans. Towering over the smaller mammals, the human moved with the lithe grace of a predator, though tempered with the sort of care you see when a larger mammal finds himself in a crowd of smaller ones. It was easy to accidentally trample someone if you weren't watching.

Hunter walked up and smiled, extending a paw to Stuart. "You'd be Judy's parents, I gather."

Stuart shook his paw. "That's right. You're Zacharias Hunter."

"I go by Zach, usually."

"So, hey, Hunter," said Judy brightly. "Did Tavi have a chance to talk to you?"

The human turned to look down at her. "Yes. I got your list."

Judy's eyes widened and she whipped around to glare at Tavi. "You gave him the list?" she hissed.

"I thought it'd be easier!" said Tavi desperately.

Bonnie looked between the two of them, confused. "What list?"

"Oh, nothing important," said Hunter airily. He looked around. "So this is Bunnyburrow, huh? Seems nice."

"Yes, it's a good place to farm," said Stuart, noticing Bonnie still frowning at Judy. "Is that what brought you out here? Thinking about retirement?"

"Oh, no, I'm on the run from the mob. Shook down one of their enforcers."

There was an awkward silence.

"Ha, ha," said Judy in a choked voice. "Oh, he's such a joker." She glared daggers at Hunter. "Ixnay on the obstersmay!"

Nick glanced at her, then, visibly steeling himself, stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Nick."

He instantly became the focus of attention for the two older bunnies. "We spoke to you on the phone," said Bonnie neutrally.

"Until you went through a tunnel," added Stuart, his voice also flat.

"Um, yeah, I guess maybe the reception wasn't so good-"

"I didn't know there were any tunnels along the way from here to Zootopia. Pretty smooth terrain, really." Stuart didn't notice Judy's glare.

There was a pause as Nick tried to think of something to say, wilting visibly under the stares of Bonnie and Stuart.

"Wow, is it just me, or is it kind of cold here all of a sudden?" said Hunter cheerfully. "Why don't we head to the house?" He made ushering motions with his hands, breaking up the awkward silence. The group slowly started heading towards the station's exit, though he noted how many of them were shooting one another significant looks. There was far more being said in the silence than anyone could say openly.

He noted one from Judy, who fell back slightly to talk to him. "Well, thanks for moving things along, at least," she said quietly.

"Don't thank me yet," he growled. He hastened his stride to catch up to Bonnie and Stuart. "Hey, have either of you ever heard of a dropbear? Interesting story..."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy was trying frantically to think of a plausible way to interrupt Hunter when they stepped outside the station to find a beat-up squad car in front of it. A goat and a hare, both wearing brown sheriff's department uniforms, stood nearby. She recognized the goat immediately. "Sheriff?"

The goat smiled broadly. "Judy Hopps! Hadn't seen you in ages!" He walked over and extended his paw. She took it, also smiling. "Heard you were coming to town again, and thought I'd drop by. Been hearing a lot about you from the papers."

"It's good to see you, sheriff. These are some of my friends from ZPD- Anila Tavi, Zach Hunter, and Nick Wilde."

The goat nodded at them. "Sheriff Andy Gruff. This here's my deputy, Barney Fluff."

The hare snapped to a parody of attention. "Just joined the department," he said proudly.

Hunter cocked his head. "Thought bunnies didn't usually become cops."

"Figured if the folks in the big city could do it, so could I," said Gruff. "You'd be the human, I take it?"

"Yep." He shook the sheriff's paw. "What's it like, policing out here?"

"Quiet, mostly."

"Too quiet," muttered Fluff.

Hunter shook his head. "No such thing."

Nick was frowning at the sheriff, though he plastered on a smile when the goat's head turned towards him. "So you knew Judy?" he said, somewhat lamely.

Gruff nodded, looking Nick over speculatively. "Since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Used to pester me with questions all the time," he said, smiling at her.

"Remember when you came to Woodlands Elementary?" she said. "I brought you for show and tell."

He grinned. "Yep. I was just glad you didn't put me in a box with air holes like some of the other students did with their exhibits. Weirdest insects I'd ever seen."

"The students or the exhibits?" asked Nick.

Everyone turned to stare at him. He chuckled nervously. "It's a joke."

The deputy, Fluff, narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm watching you, fox."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned Hunter. "He's pretty boring most of the time."

The deputy looked at the human sharply. "Most of the time?"

"Easy, Barney, he hasn't done anything wrong," said Gruff, a long-suffering tone to his admonition. "He's a cop just like us."

The bunny deputy eyed the sheriff doubtfully. "Just like us?"

"So, Mr. Hunter," broke in Bonnie with false cheer. "I'm afraid we probably won't have room for you in the pick-up, so would you mind riding in the back?"

He looked at the pickup doubtfully. "Is that legal?"

The sheriff shrugged. "Probably."

"Probably?"

"Pretty sure."

"Oh, good." Hunter shrugged. "Suits me."

As they started toward the pickup, the sheriff called out to Judy. "Oh, the show and tell thing reminded me. Principal Harington wanted to see if you and your fellow officers would do a little presentation at the school. Lot of children interested in policing, what with your success and all."

Judy hesitated. "I don't know, sheriff..."

"Sounds great!" said Tavi enthusiastically. "I love children!"

"Sure," agreed Hunter. "When is it?"

His friends all turned to stare at him. "What?" he asked, annoyed. "Might be fun."

Nick and Judy exchanged looks. "Okay," said Judy slowly. "Sure."

"Be there tomorrow at noon. I'll see you there. Stuart, Bonnie." He nodded to them. "Glad to meet you, Mr. Hunter, Ms. Tavi, Mr. Wilde."

As they got into the patrol car, the deputy pointed at his eyes with two fingers, then at Wilde, then at his eyes again. Since he wasn't watching what he was doing, he caught his duty belt on the door and spent a few moments swearing as he tried to free himself. After finally getting into the car, he pointed two fingers at Wilde again, but had his paw slapped down by the annoyed sheriff before he could repeat the "I'm watching you" motion.

They watched them go.

"So does the sheriff meet with everyone who comes into town?" asked Nick suspiciously.

"Well, Judy is a bit of a local hero," said Stuart quickly.

The fox narrowed his eyes at him, then turned away. "Hey, I think I'll ride in the back, keep Zach company."

Hunter glanced at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling it might get a bit crowded otherwise," said Nick.

"Nick-" began Judy.

"It's fine, Carrots. Let's go." He hefted his bag and tossed it into the bed of the pickup.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So that's Nick," said Bonnie.

Tavi glanced at her as she settled into the back seat, then at Judy, who had a fixed expression on her face. "That's him," she said neutrally.

"Everything okay between you two?" asked Stuart.

Tavi winced- even she picked up the hopeful tone in his voice.

"We're okay," said Judy, her voice still calm.

"And Mr. Hunter seems to be, um, interesting."

"Yes," said Judy, closing her eyes. "He is."

There was a silence as Stuart started the engine and put the truck into gear.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter stared at his friend, who slouched uncomfortably against the side of the pick-up's bed. He sighed. "All right, what's wrong?"

Nick shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

"Oh, good." Hunter settled into position and started looking around as the truck started moving.

"It's just that Judy and I had an argument."

Hunter sighed. Nick appeared not to notice.

"I'm really worried about this, Zach. If her family doesn't like me- and I'm starting on the back paw here- I'm worried that she won't- that she'll feel like she has to choose between me and them."

"Well," said Hunter, "You'll just have to win them over. You know, be charming, polite, considerate-"

"So just be myself?"

"That's the exact opposite of what I was saying."

"Very funny, Hunter." Nick cupped his face in his paws, thinking. "Maybe I could focus on sharing mutual interests with them. That usually works."

Hunter frowned. "What are those interests?"

"Well, um- huh." Nick scratched his head, then snapped his fingers. "Stuart likes golf! I'll play golf with him!"

"You know how to play golf?" asked Hunter, surprised.

"No. Can't be that hard, though. You hit a ball with a stick."

"I feel like there may be a bit more nuance to it than that."

Nick shrugged. "I don't have to be good at it. Just play a round with him." He nodded. "Yeah, this is a good plan."

"Sure. How could it go-"

Nick glared at Hunter. "Do not finish that sentence."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So tell us about Nick," said Bonnie with a forced smile. "He works with you?"

"Yes, has since he joined up a couple of years ago," said Judy, trying to force down her nervousness. "I actually convinced him to join the department. First fox officer, you know."

"Oh, really? So you're both the first of your species to become police officers," said Bonnie. There was a slight pause. "Well, well."

Tavi, who was sitting in the back next to Judy, cleared her throat. "Hunter's also the first human to be in Zootopian PD, and I'm the first mongoose- oh, and Shepherd is the first tank."

Stuart and Bonnie stared at her. Since Stu was driving, this nearly resulted in the truck running off the road.

"The first what?" asked Bonnie, somewhat faintly.

"Tank- um, he's a robot tank that the department sort of ended up with after the Raid." Judy caught her eye and gave a tiny shake of her head. "But yeah, we all sort of ended up being the first of our kinds to be police. Kind of cool, huh?"

"The Raid," muttered Stu pensively.

Judy spoke up quickly. "But anyway, we ended up riding together a lot, and I got to know him." She glanced at Nick, who was talking to Hunter. "He's a good mammal, Mom."

"I'm sure he is," said Bonnie, a bit too quickly. "So how did you two first meet?"

Judy hesitated. "I was working on the Night Howler investigation, and he helped me out."

"Oh? Awfully public-spirited of him," said Stu.

His daughter frowned at the back of his head. "It was."

"What did he do for a living before he joined the police department?" asked Bonnie.

Tavi winced.

Judy leaned back in her seat and turned her eyes upward to avoid Bonnie's gaze. "He was an entrepreneur."

"An entrepreneur," said Bonnie flatly. "Meaning?"

"He sold popsicles from a street stand."

"Huh." Bonnie and Stuart traded looks.

"What?" demanded Judy, who caught their shared glance.

Bonnie looked back at her, surprised. "Judy?"

"I saw that look. It's true, he sold popsicles. And some other things, but nothing illegal," said Judy, which was technically true- she never said he paid taxes. "He was just a mammal trying to get by."

"Now, Judy, it's not that we don't believe you," said Stuart. "It's just that- well, a street peddler? Do you know that's all he did?"

Tavi's eyes flicked between Judy and her parents nervously. She shrank back into her seat as Judy's eyes flashed.

"Yes, I do!"

"How do you know?" asked Bonnie.

"Because he told me! I trust him!"

Both her parents frowned identically. "Well, sure, but-"

Judy leaned forward. "He's saved my life," she said, her voice low, but firm. "And I've saved his. More than once, both ways. I can trust him."

Stuart and Bonnie fell silent.

Tavi leaned over to Judy, who had sat back down. "Didn't you ask me to not bring up the dangerous stuff we've done?" she whispered to Judy.

The bunny frowned at her. "Yeah?"

"Well, it's just that telling them Nick saved your life and vice versa- more than once- kind of implies your life needed saving."

Judy's eyes widened as she looked at her parents, who were both staring rigidly ahead.

"Oh, cheese and crackers," she muttered.

Notes: "Ixnay on the obstersmay"- it's "Pig Latin". Not as common to hear people refer to it today, but look it up if you don't get it.  
Andy Gruff and Barney Fluff- They're a parody/homage of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Barney Fife, of course. I nearly went with "Andy Tailer" but then realized that a Zootopianization of Fife would probably be Fluff...meaning they'd be Gruff and Fluff. Couldn't resist.

Things are moving along- I'm about two more chapters ahead, but I'm still re-writing parts. Hopefully I'll be getting both out this week...significantly longer than it usually takes me, I know. Hope you guys will bear with me. I'm not sure how long this will turn out to be- I've got most of it planned, but my mind's been so frazzled recently that it's moving more slowly than I hoped. At a guess, I think it will run about 10-15 chapters, probably closer to 10 then 15. Which is fairly long for what was intended to be a short, but I've got a lot I need to cover. I'm going to be setting up a number of plot points for the next long arc in the story, which I've started to plan out. Tentatively entitled "Hunter's Peace"- that's subject to change, of course. 


	29. Short Story Chapter 6

The truck pulled up in front of a mound with a door in it.

Hunter eyed the small hillock curiously. "Judy lived here? Seems kinda small."

Nick gave him a look as he hopped out of the truck. "They're bunnies, Hunter. Most of it is underground."

"Oh, right." Hunter glanced around. "That isn't, though." He pointed at a small trailer set up on one side of the yard.

Bonnie, who had gotten out of the truck and come around to check on them, gave him a strained smile. "That's where you'll be staying, Mr. Hunter. I'm afraid our burrow is too small for a mammal of your size, so we borrowed Mr. Bruin's travel trailer."

"He's a bear?"

"Yes. It may smell a bit, um, fishy."

Hunter shrugged. "Sounds like my first apartment. Sounds good, Mrs. Hopps."

"Please, call me Bonnie," she said, almost automatically. She gave Nick another forced smile. "You may want to stay in there as well, Mr. Wilde- bunny burrows can be a bit cramped for mammals of your size."

Judy looked over from where she was helping Tavi down out of the truck. "He'll stay with me, Mom."

A frown flitted across Bonnie's face. "Well, if you're sure- your room is kind of small, isn't it?"

Judy sighed. "It's big enough for us."

Before Bonnie could say anything else, the front door to the burrow flew open and a veritable flood of tiny bunnies poured out.

"Judy!" shouted several as they piled onto her. She nearly disappeared under the wave as she smiled broadly and tried to hug them all at once.

"Hey, guys!" She looked back at her friends. "These are my younger brothers and sisters!" she said, raising her voice above the excited babble.

Hunter raised his eyebrows and looked at Nick, who stared in surprise. Nick looked back at him. "Big family," he said weakly.

Hunter nodded, frowning slightly. "Bother you?"

"What? Why would it?"

Judy had managed to hand out enough hugs that the excitement had abated a bit, and she turned- one paw clasped in that of one of her younger sisters- and gestured with the free paw. "These are my friends, guys. They work at ZPD, too."

The bunnies turned as one to stare at the fox, human, and mongoose. Hunter couldn't help but smile at their sudden concentration. "Whoa," said one, his eyes wide. "Is he a human?"

"Nah," said Hunter, his eyes twinkling. "He's a fox."

"I meant you!"

"Oh! Yep, I'm a human."

"Wow," said the bunny, drawing out the word. Hunter smiled at him.

"Well," said Bonnie, looking a bit more cheerful after seeing Judy reunite with her siblings, "I guess I should get you situated- Mr. Wilde, Ms. Tavi, do you want to grab your luggage?"

The fox and mongoose quickly gathered their things and headed inside with Judy and Bonnie. Stuart waved to Hunter. "I've got to go run a few errands. Nice meeting you, Mr. Hunter."

Hunter nodded back as he got his own belongings off the truck. "Good to meet you."

The truck roared to life and drove away.

Some of Judy's siblings had followed them inside, but several remained outside, staring at Hunter with wide eyes as he moved his luggage to the trailer. He suddenly felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down.

"I'm Bobby!" announced the kit.

"Hi, Bobby. I'm Zach."

"Are you a space alien?"

"No," said Hunter. Then he thought about it. "Kinda," he admitted.

Bobby's eyes grew even wider. "Do you have a ray gun?"

"Um, no. Should I?"

"In the _Adventures of Dan Hare_ , the space aliens always have ray guns." The bunny held up a comic book, which showed a space-suited rabbit having a laser-gun battle with some sort of reptilian monsters. "See?"

Hunter shrugged. "Sorry, not that kind of space alien." He turned to open the door to the trailer.

The next question made him turn around again. "Did you come to ravish our females?"

"Excuse me?"

"Because in the _Adventures of Dan Dare_ , the aliens are always trying to ravish Terran females!"

Hunter's eyes narrowed. "Does your mother know about these comic books?"

Just then, Tavi walked back outside. "Hey, Hunter," she began, before catching sight of the bunnies clustered around him. "Hey, guys!" she said cheerfully. "Are you talking to Mr. Hunter?"

"He's a space alien!" said Bobby excitedly.

Tavi blinked. "Well, not exactly-"

"He said he was! Did he ever ravish you?"

Tavi's ears flattened in shock. "What?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They decided, in deference to Hunter and because of the nice weather, to have dinner outside. With the implacable organizational skills that belonged only to drill sergeants and mothers, Bonnie soon had everyone hauling tables, food, cutlery, and the other accoutrements of dining into something like order on the expansive lawn outside the burrow.

Nick, meanwhile, found himself laboring with Stu to place a table according to the expectations of his girlfriend's mother, specifications which proved to be remarkably exact.

"No, no, turn it around, Stu," she ordered, looking up from laying large cutlery for Hunter's place.

Her husband frowned. "It's the same both ways. It's a picnic table."

"That side needs to be facing the road."

Stu opened his mouth, then shrugged. He glanced at Nick. "Orders are orders."

Nick smiled at him, careful to not show too many teeth. "Ours is not to reason why, ours is not to make reply, ours is but to do and dine."

Stu looked surprised, but chuckled after a second. "Something like that." They picked up the table and spun it around. He looked to his wife for approval, but she had disappeared into the house again. "I'm half tempted to spin it around the way it was before to see if she noticed."

"You like to live dangerously, huh?" said Nick.

"Said I was half-tempted. She'd know, somehow." He grabbed a tablecloth and spread it across the table. Nick hurried to smooth the edges.

"So," he said carelessly, "Judy says you like to golf?"

"Yeah, every now and again." He glanced at the fox. "You golf, Mr. Wilde?"

"Sure. Maybe we can get in a few rounds tomorrow after I do that school thing," said Nick. "And call me Nick."

After a moment, Stuart nodded. "Okay." He paused. "Sounds like a plan, Mr Wi- Nick."

As he turned away, Nick caught Judy's eye- she was trying to herd a number of her younger siblings to the tables- and gave a thumbs-up.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, Mr. Hunter," said Bonnie as they began passing around food. "You're from the human worlds?"

With remarkable forbearance, Hunter managed not to point out how excruciatingly obvious that was. "Yes, ma'am."

"Which planet?" asked a younger rabbit, whom Hunter guessed was in her early teens.

"Alpha Centauri Prime- AlphaCen for short."

"What's it like there?"

Hunter shrugged. "Different." He looked carefully at the young bunny. "I didn't catch your name, young lady."

"Cotton. I'm Aunt Judy's niece. I read a lot about the Human Stars- you've had a lot of wars."

"Well, not me personally." He paused. "At least not if you don't count between me and the brass."

Stu gave him an odd look.

"The books say the Human Stars are an oligarchical kleptocracy behind a veneer of democratic institutions," said Cotton. "Is that true?"

Hunter looked confused. "Maybe? I'm not entirely sure what you just said."

"An oligarchy is a-"

"No politics at the table," said Bonnie firmly.

Hunter leaned over to Tavi. "That was politics?"

She rolled her eyes.

"So what's it like to fly in space?" asked Cotton. Though thwarted in her investigation of the political landscape of the Human Stars, she seemed intent on interrogating Hunter.

"Well, it's mostly not too interesting. I mean, there aren't really any windows, you know."

"Why not?" asked another bunny. Hunter noticed most of the table was now looking at him.

"Nothing to see," said Hunter. "Space is really big, you know." He grinned at the bunny. "So you're usually too far away to see anything interesting until you're arrived, and then you get on a shuttle to the planet."

"How do you travel from one star to another?" asked Cotton. "You have some kind of faster-than-light travel, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know exactly how it works, though." Hunter chewed some food thoughtfully. "One of the crewmen on the ship I took to here tried to explain it to me, so I gather it has something to do with apples."

There was a confused silence. "Apples?" said Stu uncertainly.

Cotton looked thoughtful, then brightened, her ears standing straight up. "Oh! Wormholes!"

Hunter looked at her in surprise, then smiled. "Yeah, that's right. You're a pretty smart kid."

"It's kit," she said, confused.

"Human slang. Yeah, wormholes. Like, if you were an ant walking around the apple, it would take a long time- but a worm bores right through it." Hunter nodded, satisfied.

"So human ships are like worms?" asked Bobby.

"I guess so?"

"Captain Dan Hare fought the space-worms of Sirius A once, but even they didn't have worm ships," said the bunny doubtfully.

"Did he ever fight humans?"

"Yep! They had ray guns!"

"Right, right," said Hunter. "I had forgotten the ray guns."

Bonnie smiled as Hunter continued to field questions from her kits. "You have a way with children, Mr. Hunter," she said after one of his comments elicited peals of high-pitched giggling.

The human looked a bit wistful. "Always liked kids- children, I mean."

"Do you have children, Mr. Hunter?" asked Cotton.

Nick, Judy, and Tavi all pricked up their ears and looked toward their friend worriedly.

Hunter had frozen, his fork halfway up to his mouth. The rest of the table's conversations gradually died away as everyone saw the stricken look on the human's face.

Cotton gradually realized she had said something wrong, and her ears lowered. "I didn't mean-"

After a long moment, Hunter carefully put down his fork and stood up. "I'm sorry, guys- been a long day. I think I'll take a little walk and head to bed." He nodded towards Stuart and Bonnie. "Thank you for supper."

"Are you okay, Mr. Hunter?" asked Bonnie worriedly. She didn't know what it meant when a human turned pale like that, but it didn't look good.

"Just a long day," repeated Hunter. He stepped back and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Cotton stared after him. She seemed about to burst into tears. "What'd I say?"

Tavi leaned over and hugged her. "You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie."

"Is he mad at me?"

Tavi shook her head emphatically. "No, no. You just accidentally reminded him of something. It's not your fault." She hesitated, looking at Hunter as he walked away. "I'd better go talk to him."

She hopped down and hurried off.

The rest of the gathering looked awkwardly at one another. "I'll explain later," murmured Judy to her mother, who was giving her a questioning look.

Bonnie looked at her curiously, but shrugged it away. "Well," she said, trying to get everyone back into a good mood. "No doubt you and Nick have some interesting stories about being police officers."

The kits all looked at them expectantly.

As was so often the case when someone says something like that, both Nick and Judy suddenly seemed to forget every funny or interesting story they knew. "Uh," said Nick, thinking.

Bonnie sensed the problem. "Wasn't Mr. Hunter going to tell us a story about- what was it, dear?" she said to Stu.

"A drop-bear," said Stu.

Both Judy and Nick started choking.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Zach."

Hunter kept walking as Tavi scampered to catch up.

"Zach, wait up. Hunter!"

He stopped, looked down as she ran up next to him. "Come on, Tavi, try to keep up."

"It's not my fault you have freakishly long legs." He started walking again, but more slowly.

For a long moment, they walked in silence.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, finally.

"Not right now."

"Fair enough."

They kept walking.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy walked into the room she was sharing with Nick and closed the door. She leaned back against it with a sigh, closing her eyes. "Well, that was awkward."

"Could have been worse," said Nick. He was fiddling with his cell phone while sitting on the bed. "I think I may have started to bring your dad around."

She blinked. "Really? That's great! How?"

"Quoted Tenrecson."

Judy frowned. "You quoted classical poetry?"

He looked up from his phone, smiling at her. "What? I read."

She shook her head and smiled, too. "I wouldn't have thought Dad would have warmed up to you because of poetry."

"Well, we were bonding over the bossiness of females- ow!" He rubbed his arm where Judy had playfully hit him. "Case in point."

She sat down next to him. "I'm glad it's going okay." She hesitated. "Nick, what I said on the train-"

The fox stiffened slightly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Judy looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that if you didn't get along with my family we couldn't be together. I was just worried."

He was quiet for a moment. "I don't want to lose you," he said, very quietly.

The bunny shook her head. "You won't," she promised.

Nick cocked his head, studying her. "Even if they don't like me? What if- and I'm not saying it would happen- but what if they told you they didn't want anything to do with you as long as you were with me?"

Judy's eyes widened. "Nick- they wouldn't-"

"I'm not saying they would." His voice was low, troubled. He looked back down at his phone. "Just- if they did."

"It won't happen," she said firmly.

Nick, keeping his eyes on his phone, was silent for a long moment. "Okay, Carrots."

Troubled, she watched him for a moment. Then she glanced at his phone and blinked in surprise. "What are you watching?"

He held up the phone. "Zootube videos. How to golf in fifteen lessons."

"Um. Why?"

"I'm going golfing with your dad tomorrow."

"You golf?"

He pointed to the phone. "Not yet."

Judy rolled her eyes. "You know, it's kinda complicated."

"How complicated could it be? The videos are only about fifteen minutes long."

She shook her head and leaned against him. "You know, the walls in here are pretty thick- pretty much soundproof. All that dirt around them," she said suggestively.

He glanced at her, then did a double-take, his eyes widening. "Um, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She grabbed him and pulled him into a long kiss.

After a moment, he broke the kiss. "I can't, Carrots."

Judy kept her arms around him. "Why not? Too nervous in my house?" she asked.

"No, it's just-" he pointed to the phone. "I've got to get through all fifteen lessons tonight."

A moment later the phone shattered against the wall.

Nick stared. "Wow, Carrots, you have a pretty good arm on you-"

He was cut off, and for the rest of the night neither of them said much of anything.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Judy told me what happened to Mr. Hunter's children," said Bonnie to her husband as they were getting ready for bed.

Stu nodded. "She told me, too. Poor mammal." He opened the closet and pulled out a set of golf clubs.

Bonnie pulled on her nightshirt. "I feel for him, but I have to say- it doesn't make me any happier for Judy to be in the city. I mean, if there are mammals willing to do something that awful-" She shivered.

Her husband paused as he inspected a nine iron. His nose twitched. "I hadn't even thought about that." He shook his head. "Thanks, Bonnie."

She sighed. "You would have thought of it sooner or later."

"Rather have done it later, though." He picked up his putter and studied it critically.

Bonnie watched him. "Stu, what are you doing?"

"The fox wants to play golf tomorrow."

"His name is Nick," she said.

He glanced at her. "Right."

"Well, it will be a good chance to get to know him," said Bonnie carefully.

"Right," said Stu. He picked out a driver and hefted it free of the bag. He swung it through the air a few times.

"Stu?" asked Bonnie.

"Yes, dear?"

"What are you doing now?"

"Just practicing my swing, Bonnie."

"Isn't it usual to practice swinging at the ground, where the ball would be?" asked Bonnie dryly. "Not at, for example, head-height for a fox?"

A/N

 _So in case you're curious, Dan Dare was a 1950's era space captain like Buck Rogers. I didn't use Buck Rogers because it was already too perfect (buck being a male rabbit, of course). I don't know if that makes any sense. For the same reason I decided against Tiger Woods being involved in Nick's golfing lessons videos. I keep running into real-life people with actual Zootopian names._

 _A tenrec is a small mammal that looks sort of like a possum. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, of course, wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade, which contains the lines:_

 _Theirs is not to reason why,_

 _Theirs is not to make reply,_

 _Theirs is but to do and die._

 _An excellent Romantic era poem- I highly recommend it._

 _The reference to apples and wormholes is a common model to try and describe one possible form of faster-than-light travel. Hunter may well have misunderstood it, though- he's very intelligent, but tends to get bored if the subject doesn't hold his interest._


	30. Short Story Chapter 7

The four ZPD officers stood outside Woodlands Elementary. Tavi was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I love children! This is going to be so much fun!"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, I always enjoyed this sort of thing."

"Really?" said Judy incredulously. "You liked talking to students?"

He nodded. "Yep. I almost never had to arrest any of them, and it was better than working."

"Almost never?"

Before Hunter could answer, an older rabbit with thick spectacles walked outside. She saw the four other mammals and raised a paw in greeting. "Judy Hopps! My, how you've grown!"

Judy gave her a hug. "Hi, Ms. Harrington."

"You can call me Esther, Judy- you're not a student anymore." She looked at the other three. "Let me see- you'd be Officer Tavi-" she shook Tavi's extended paw. "And Officer Wilde, and Officer, um, Hunter." Hunter raised an eyebrow at her hesitation at his last name- it had been a while since anyone made note of it.

They shook her paw. "So are we going to be speaking in the auditorium, or-" said Judy.

"Oh, well, since there's four of you, I thought I'd just have you go to the different classes. Officer Tavi will have the kindergartners and first grade, you'll have the second and third-graders, Officer Wilde can talk to the fourth-grade, and Officer Hunter will speak to the fifth."

Judy missed a step. "Um, I thought we'd all be speaking together."

"Here's your class, Mr. Hunter," said Harrington cheerfully, gesturing to a door. Hunter nodded to her and disappeared inside. Harrington looked at Judy. "Is something the matter, dear?"

Judy never moved her eyes from the door where Hunter had disappeared. "It's just that I thought that- um, especially with Hunter, maybe we should have someone else with him-" she stopped, unsure how to continue.

Harrington chuckled. "Oh, he's an adult. Surely he doesn't need any supervision."

Nick started coughing. Judy shot him a glare. "Try to tell Chief Bogo that," she muttered.

"What's that, dear?"

"Nothing."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As was a time-honored tradition among schoolchildren meeting a police officer, the first question was the same for all four officers.

"Have you ever shot anyone?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well, that's not what we're here to talk about," answered Judy evasively.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No," said Tavi truthfully.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No," said Nick falsely.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Yep!" said Hunter casually. He noticed the teacher- Ms. Bunting- look up from her desk, her ears swiveling towards him and her eyes wide. "But they were all bad guys," he assured the class.

A young doe raised her hand. "If I were a bad guy, would you shoot me?"

"Well, it depends on what you were doing."

"What if I was trying to shoot you?"

"Then yes."

Ms. Bunting stood up."Um, Officer Hunter, maybe you shouldn't-"

"What happens when you shoot someone?" asked another youngster, a kid- that is, a young goat.

"Well, it all depends," said Hunter. He looked around. "It'd probably be easiest to use a diagram. Where's the chalk- ah." He picked it up a bare second before Ms. Bunting could snatch it. He turned towards the blackboard and drew a stylized rabbit. "So you generally want to aim for the areas of the major arteries-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Tavi, Nick, and Judy walked into the principal's office some time later, they found Hunter writing on a blackboard under the stern gaze of Principal Harrington. Specifically, he was writing one sentence over and over.

"I will not teach children how to kill," read Nick. Judy covered her eyes with her paws.

"Technically, I was teaching them how to shoot to neutralize, not kill," muttered Hunter.

Harrington smacked him with a ruler.

"Ow!"

"You will be quiet until you've written all one thousand lines, Officer Hunter."

He sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

She turned to Judy, a severe look on her face. "And you, Ms. Hopps. I want to have a word with you."

Judy blanched. "I tried to warn you-"

Seizing her by one ear, Harrington dragged the protesting bunny into the other room. Tavi, Nick, and Hunter watched them go.

Hunter grinned. "I like her. Reminds me of my mom."

The door swung back open. "Keep writing, Mr. Hunter!" shouted Harrington.

"Yes, ma'am!" Hunter hurriedly turned back to the board.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I still don't get what the big problem was," said Hunter as they walked along the street away from the school.

Nick looked at him disbelievingly. "You gave a fifteen minute lecture on the best way to shoot another mammal to a bunch of fifth-graders."

"Yeah? And?"

"Even you can't be this dense," said Judy, rubbing her still-sore ear. "You don't talk to children about things like that."

He frowned down at them. "I know you don't have mandatory military training like we did, but I figured you'd still teach them something about that sort of thing."

Nick blinked at him. "Mandatory military training?"

"Yeah. From the sixth grade onward, then two years minimum service after high school." He didn't notice the shocked looks they exchanged. "We fight a lot of wars, you know."

"But- children?"

"Gotta start sometime. The earlier, the better," said Hunter with a shrug.

"That's horrible," said Judy.

"What? Why?"

"It- it just is! Children should be protected from that sort of thing," she said angrily. "Not taught about it! In class!"

"Would you rather they learn about it when it happens?" asked Hunter, confused.

"Why would they have to learn about it at all?"

They stared at one another for a moment. Nick glanced between Judy and Hunter, then cleared his throat. "I think this is a cultural thing."

Hunter frowned at him. "Huh?"

"You grew up on a world that was frequently raided by enemies," Nick pointed out. "Zootopia doesn't have that problem. We don't see that we have to expose anyone- except maybe those who volunteer- to violence and death. You have to teach them, because it's better than learning through experience."

Tavi nodded slowly. "I think I see." She shook her head slowly. "I don't know whether to think that makes us better or worse."

Nick shrugged. "Maybe it just makes us different."

After a moment, Hunter nodded. "I guess so."

Judy studied him. "Zach, why did you want to do this school thing anyway? You're not exactly the social sort."

The human looked around. "Hey, look at that, a bar. Well, the day wasn't a total waste." He turned and started to walk away. "I'll meet you guys back at Judy's house."

Judy started to raise a paw, but shook his head at her. "What?" she asked him, quietly.

Before Nick could speak, Tavi answered. "He wants to be alone," she said.

"Well, yes, but why?"

Nick watched their friend walk through the doors of the bar. "He wanted to do this school talk because he wanted to be around children for a while," said Nick quietly. "Didn't you notice how he was around your siblings? He actually seemed happy, for once."

Judy's eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"I wonder if he even realizes why he was doing it," said Tavi sadly. "Or if he's blocking that out, too."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter walked into the bar, noting the few customers- the sort of mammals that drink at four o'clock in the afternoon. He found a stool- there were a few for larger mammals, though they were slightly uncomfortable still- and sat down. The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Hey," the rabbit said. "Aren't you a human?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm getting over it." He nodded towards the bottles behind the bartender. "So what kind of booze do you serve in Bunnyburrow? Beer made from carrots?"

The bartender frowned. "Come on, that's just stereotypical. They're made from hops."

"Huh. Now that I think about it, that's pretty thematically appropriate, too."

"We've got pilsners, dark ales-" the bartender pointed to bottles behind him as he listed them. "This is a pretty good dark lager, this one's nice and chewy, and-"

"Hang on a second. What was that one?" Hunter pointed to one that the bartender had skipped.

The bunny hesitated. "It's not important. I also have an excellent-"

"Let me see it."

With a sigh, the bartender handed the bottle to Hunter.

"Ha," said Hunter with satisfaction as he read the label. "Carrot beer. I knew it."

"It's not that popular," muttered the bartender.

"Then why do you have so many bottles of it?" said Hunter, gesturing to the long row behind the one the bartender had taken down.

"They just don't sell," said the bartender quickly.

"Right," said Hunter. "Okay, I'll try it."

"It's pretty strong stuff," warned the bunny.

"Good."

The bartender popped the cap off and poured the beer into a glass. "Imagine, me having a human in my bar," he said musingly.

"Well, don't spread it around or everyone will want one."

The bunny eyed him. "Not likely."

"Oh, good, a sarcastic bartender. Just what I wanted."

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Nick looked at Tavi. "What time is it?"

"About four," she said, checking her phone. She frowned at him. "What happened to your phone?"

"It, uh, got broken. I need to get going." He looked to Judy. "I've got to go to tea with your dad, I guess. Didn't strike me as a tea kind of mammal."

Judy exchanged a confused look with Tavi. "He's not," she said, then rolled her eyes as it clicked. "You mean tee time."

The fox nodded. "Yeah, that's what I said. Tea time at four thirty."

Judy squinted at him. "You're being serious."

"Yes?" said Nick, confused.

"Tee time, Nick," said Tavi, exasperated. "T-E-E. A tee is what you hit the golf ball from."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" asked Judy. "At least tell him you're a beginner and you just want to learn how to play."

"No, I wanted him to think it's a shared interest," said Nick. He scowled. "Besides, if someone hadn't broken my phone, I would have gotten further than lesson two."

"Broke your phone?" Tavi frowned. "Who broke your phone?"

"So you two are going to go shopping with your mom, right, Carrots?" said Nick quickly. "I'll see you later."

She sighed. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too." Nick hurried off down the street.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick half-ran up to the clubhouse of the golf course, hoping he wasn't going to be late. Sure, it was just a friendly game of golf- well, no, it wasn't.

He paused to catch his breath, looked around. The golf course stretched out around him, a wide expanse of open space, rolling hills, and nary a large building in sight.

It made him nervous.

He had grown up in the city. Large empty spaces generally meant you were in a part of town that developers shunned, and so seeing too many of them meant you watched your step and your wallet with equal care. Not only that, but after being a cop for awhile, you just hate to feel exposed.

It didn't help how high the stakes were. Judy wouldn't answer his question the previous night- whether she would choose her family over him. He would never ask her to make that choice, but what if they did?

Sometimes he missed his old life, when he didn't have to worry about these things. When he never wondered what someone saw in him, because he knew what mammals saw in foxes. When the only opinion that mattered was his.

On the other paw, he was terrified that he would go back to it.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and went inside the clubhouse.

Stu was sitting in a lounge area, looking at his phone. He looked up and smiled at Nick. "Mr. Wilde- I mean, Nick. You're right on time."

Nick smiled back, with more confidence than he felt. "Glad to hear it. My phone broke and I hardly ever wear a watch anymore."

Stu snorted. "Yeah, I understand. Amazing how these things have taken over." He gestured with the cell phone. "I figured you didn't have any clubs with you, so I went ahead and rented a set."

Nick ambled over and picked up the bag carefully. "Thanks, Mr. Hopps."

"Oh, go ahead and call me Stu." The bunny got up and Nick followed him as he retrieved his golf clubs and walked out the back door of the club.

Well, this seemed promising. Nick began to feel a bit less nervous. Maybe things would go all right after all-

"Heya, Stu. Mr. Wilde," said Sheriff Gruff as they walked out. He stood with his own set of golf clubs. Next to him, resplendent in a green sweater vest and tam o'shanter, Deputy Fluff eyed Nick suspiciously.

"Hope you don't mind, Nick," said Stu casually. "The sheriff plays, too."

Beside Gruff, the deputy pointed to his eyes, then at Nick, then to his eyes again.

Nick sighed.

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Tavi consulted a list. "Where would I find this?" she asked, holding up the list to Bonnie.

The older mammal squinted. "Modelling glue?"

"Hunter asked me to pick some up for his job."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "He uses modelling glue as a police officer?"

"It's a side job," said Judy. She paused. "Though I wouldn't put it past him to use it for some shenanigan at the station," she muttered, half to herself.

"Shenanigans, eh?" said Bonnie. "Bit of a prankster, is he?"

"Oh, yes!" said Tavi. "Everyone told me about that thing with the reporter, where he convinced her she was exposed to Night Howler and..." The mongoose trailed off as she noticed Judy frantically shaking her head behind her mother.

"And what?" asked Bonnie, curious.

"Um, I've forgotten the rest."

Bonnie eyed her, but then decided to let it pass. "Well, we can get it at a hobby store. There's one next to the mall."

They made their way along the sidewalk. Several of the mammals passing by exchanged greetings with the three, one older rabbit- a cousin of some sort, Tavi gathered- stopping to talk for a few minutes. Eventually, they found themselves outside a small hobby shop.

Tavi waved to them. "I'll be right back!"

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"So where is Mr. Hunter?" Bonnie asked Judy casually.

Judy decided that saying he was likely drinking himself into oblivion was not the best response. "He's just walking around, seeing the sights."

"The sights?"

"He's just walking around," amended Judy. "I think he just needed to clear his head."

Bonnie nodded. "I'm sorry to hear about his family." She hesitated. "What happened to the human that did that to him, exactly?"

"He won't hurt anyone else," replied Judy, avoiding her eyes.

For a long moment, Bonnie was silent. "I worry about you."

"I know, mom," said Judy softly.

"It's not just what might be done to you," said her mother. "It's what you might have to do. It can change a mammal, seeing such terrible things. Having to- to-" she stopped.

Judy knew what she meant. "It has changed me," she said quietly.

Before Bonnie could say anything, Judy met her eyes. "It's made me stronger. It's made me more aware of what I have. And maybe it's made me a bit less carefree, less optimistic," she admitted. "But it's a fair trade."

Bonnie searched her daughter's face. "Is it?"

Judy nodded. "Yes."

"But- Judy, you got those awards. They're some of the highest awards in the department. They don't give those out for collecting bottle caps."

"No," Judy said reluctantly.

"Then-"

Judy looked at her mother, her face solemn. "Do you want to know, mom? Do you really want to know exactly what happened?"

Bonnie wavered, at a sudden loss for words. "I-"

"You know, you and dad were so happy when I was a meter maid. It was safe." Judy turned away, crossing her arms. "Did you even realize how upset I was? How much of a failure I was feeling?"

"Judy, we just want to know you're okay."

"I know, mom. But I didn't become a cop because I thought it would be easy, or safe. I became a cop because I could make a difference!" Judy turned to face Bonnie again. "To make the world a better place! And that's not always safe, or easy."

"I know," said Bonnie. She wiped away a sudden tear. "And we're proud of you. But you never talk to us anymore like you used to. You don't tell us about work, you walk around with new scars, you associate with-" she stopped.

Judy's eyes widened with sudden anger. "With who, mom? With foxes?"

"That's not what I was going to say," said Bonnie.

"What were you going to say, then?"

For a long moment, the two does stared at one another.

Tavi walked out of the store right between them. "Ha! Found it! Says it'll bond anything with anything, which I guess is good." She suddenly noticed the tension between Judy and Bonnie. "Maybe I should use it on you two," she said under her breath.

They looked at her as if they were just remembering her existence. "Did you find it?" asked Judy with forced cheer.

Tavi eyed her. "Yes," she repeated slowly. She held up the glue. "See?"

"Good," said Bonnie briskly. "Well, let's go."

Tavi looked up at Judy as they walked, Bonnie some distance ahead of them. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"It's fine," said Judy.

The mongoose eyed the stiff, angry gait of Judy's mother. "Right."

Judy took a deep breath. "She wants to know what goes on at work, but doesn't really want to know. And she wants to know how it's changed me, but she doesn't really want to admit I might have changed. And she wants to know how I ended up with a fox, but she doesn't want to sound like she thinks there's anything wrong with that."

Tavi considered. "Well, it's a good thing you said everything's fine. Because if you hadn't, I would have thought that things were pretty bad between you too after all of that."

Judy sighed. "It's fine."

"Oh, okay. Now that you said it twice, I know it's extra fine. What a relief."

"You've been hanging out with Hunter too much."

A/N

 _This is sort of helping to set up the next story- the Human Stars are an extremely militarized civilization, thanks to the near constant fighting. This will gradually become more important. Note that Hunter did not serve in the military- as noted before, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia right at the age a person would normally enter the military, so he is one of the few who have no direct military experience. How much this affects his attitude and demeanor is left as an exercise for the reader._

 _Those who serve in high-stress, high-intensity occupations- police, military, doctors, etc- will understand this chapter, I think. There's a fine line to walk between being too closed down and burdening others with the horrors you see. Judy is still trying to find that line, and much of her anger stems from frustration at trying to reach a balance. It's not uncommon with folks with close families that find themselves in positions their family cannot or will not understand._


	31. Short Story Chapter 8

"So you play a lot of golf, Nick?"

Nick was watching Stuart carefully as he set up a tee, but glanced at Gruff when he spoke. "A bit."

Gruff nodded. "Busy, huh? I guess it's a nice advantage to be a small-town sheriff- I get to play pretty frequently."

Nick looked at the sheriff's deputy, who was scowling at him from a short distance away. "And you get your own caddy."

The sheriff sighed. "Trust me," he muttered, "I didn't ask him to be my caddy. And I definitely didn't tell him to dress like that."

Nick noted that he was not, as it turned out, expected to dress like the golfers from old movies. He had suspected as much when he saw Gruff and Stuart's casual attire, but it was good to know for sure. That might well have been a deal breaker. He turned back to watch Stuart.

The rabbit carefully stepped up to the tee, measuring the stroke several times with his club. He set himself, and with a smooth, strong stroke launched the ball. The four mammals shaded their eyes as they watched the ball sail towards the green.

"It's a par three," said Gruff conversationally. "So there's a good chance- yeah, good shot, Stu!" The ball bounced onto the green, rolling a short distance towards one edge.

Stuart studied the green critically. "Sliced it just a hair. That green's tricky, might just make par on this one."

Gruff snorted. "Perfectionist." He looked at Nick. "After you, Nick."

Moving with a confidence he didn't feel, Nick walked up to the tee and, as he had seen Stuart do, set the tee with the ball on top in one smooth motion. He stepped back and hesitated as he looked at the clubs. Which one should he use?

Fortuitously, he heard Gruff speaking to Stuart. "Surprised you went with the five iron on that one."

Stuart shrugged. "I think I needed a bit more loft on this hole than last time. Seems to have worked out all right."

 _Okay,_ thought Nick. _So I should use a five iron._

He contemplated the bag.

 _So what the hell is a five iron?_

"I'm surprised you had much time to play golf, especially in the city," Stu said to Nick as he hesitated. "I know Judy doesn't play. Do you belong to a club?"

"No, more of a sort of hobby," said Nick. He hastily selected a club, more or less at random, and returned to the tee. "You play a lot, I gather? Judy's mentioned it a few times."

"Not as much as I like to. The farm, you know- it's a lot of work."

"Yeah, I guess so." Nick measured his stroke in the same way Stuart had. "It must make for a long day."

"Sure. But it's good, honest work. Let's a bunny sleep at night."

"I don't reckon a fox would know much about that," murmured Fluff, just loud enough for Nick to hear. The sheriff turned to glare at his deputy, who wilted.

Nick decided to ignore it. He took a deep breath and swung.

The three other mammals stared at him. Then they looked at the ball, which sat serenely on the tee, having been entirely missed by Nick's club.

"That counts as a stroke," said Fluff cheerfully.

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Bonnie, Judy, and Tavi all sat in silence at the restaurant, a small place specializing in "country cuisine". Tavi, who had lived in the city her whole life, had been interested in finding out what this meant. She had since learned that it was apparently a synonym for "deep-fried". Or possibly "heart disease."

"I thought bunnies ate healthy," she muttered to herself as she picked at her food. "Lettuce and things." She looked between Judy and Bonnie, who sat on opposite ends of the table.

The two were studiously polite when they were forced to talk to one another, but thus far it hadn't come up much. At a guess, they'd said maybe fifteen words in the last half-hour. Tavi had tried to get a conversation started with little success.

Still, if at first you don't succeed- "So Nick plays golf," she said brightly. "I didn't know that."

Judy smiled nervously. "Yes, he's full of surprises."

"Is he?" said her mother flatly.

The two glared at one another. Tavi sighed.

"I mean, I wouldn't know," said Bonnie. "I don't know hardly anything about him."

"Mom..." said Judy in a warning tone.

"Other than what's on the news, of course." Bonnie took a bite of her food and chewed thoughtfully. "Silly of me to expect to know something of my daughter's boyfriend, I suppose."

"Fine!" snapped Judy. "What do you want to know?"

Bonnie blinked at her. "What do I want to know?"

"Yes, mom. What? Ask away."

She frowned, then nodded. "All right. Why did he become a police officer?"

"Because I told him he should," said Judy. "It was a good fit for him."

"Really?" Bonnie considered that. "So you knew him for some time before that, huh?"

Judy paused. "Sort of."

"Well, you must have known him pretty well to know he'd be a good police officer. I was under the impression you two mostly hit it off after he joined the department." Bonnie suddenly frowned. "But he must have joined after that Night Howler thing. That happened not long after you joined up."

"Yes," said Judy. She shrugged. "I suggested he join up about two days after I met him, actually," she admitted.

Bonnie stared at her. "And he did?"

"Yes?" answered Judy questioningly. "I mean, clearly."

"Why? I mean, it's good that he's doing well, but- why?" Her mother sounded honestly confused.

"Because-" Judy stopped.

She hadn't thought about it before.

For her, becoming a police officer had been a life-long dream. Whether she would join the department or not had been decided for so long that she literally had not even considered another career. But Nick hadn't even considered the police before she met him.

Or at least, not as a career choice. She had to admit that he probably thought about the police fairly frequently in other contexts in his prior life.

And then after a couple of days of spending time with her, he went and changed his entire life.

Why?

"I don't know," she said, finally.

Bonnie cocked her head. "Don't you think you should?" she asked quietly.

The silence was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress. "Well, are you folks ready for dessert?" she asked cheerily.

"It's not deep-fried, is it?" asked Tavi suspiciously.

The waitress frowned. "Rhubarb pie?" She turned towards the kitchen. "Paul!"

A stout rabbit wearing an apron poked his head out. "Yeah?"

"Can you deep-fry rhubarb pie?"

"No, wait-" said Tavi.

The cook- Paul, she assumed- blinked in surprise. "Deep-fry rhubarb pie? I never heard of such a thing. That's crazy."

"Well," said Tavi quickly. "The pie will be just fine then-"

Paul had a thoughtful expression on his face. Then his eyes lit up. "But it just might work!" He disappeared again into the kitchen.

From behind the door they could hear him talking to himself. "Deep-fried pie! It's brilliant! They said I was mad to run a restaurant where I deep-fry everything, mad they said! Well, who's mad now?" There was a loud clatter.

The waitress gave them a weak smile. "Sorry. Paul is pretty, um, enthusiastic." She winced at another loud clatter, followed by a crash. "I better check on him." She hurried away.

The rest of the restaurant watched the kitchen warily.

Tavi saw Bonnie and Judy staring at her.

"What?" she said irritably. "You two picked the restaurant."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So why did you become a cop?" asked Stuart as he watched Nick flail at the ball, deep in the bottom of a sand pit.

Nick looked up as Fluff diligently recorded his latest stroke on the score card. "Why?"

"Yeah, why? I gather that it wasn't a dream of yours like it was with Judy, so why join up?"

"Beats working for a living," said Nick flippantly.

"Ha! Just like a fox, to take the easy way out!" said Deputy Fluff.

Gruff looked at him. "You're a cop, too, you know."

"Oh. Right."

"Maybe you should try a sand wedge, Nick," the sheriff suggested. "It's probably the best way to get out of bunkers."

Nick looked around, confused, searching for any sign of flat-roofed concrete buildings. "Bunkers?"

Stuart snorted and walked away. "I'll be at the next hole. Let me know if and when you get out of there." Fluff chuckled and followed him.

"You've never played a round of golf in your life, have you?" asked Gruff when they were out of earshot.

Nick paused as he was lining up again on the ball, considered the question. "No," he admitted.

"Then why are you out here?"

Nick glanced towards Stu and sighed. "I was trying to make a good impression."

"By spending the last twenty minutes digging yourself deeper and deeper into a pit?" Gruff asked pointedly. "And I mean that both literally and figuratively."

Nick looked up at the goat. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not the most popular kind of mammal around here."

Gruff nodded thoughtfully. "So you and Judy get along all right?" he asked.

Nick frowned at the sudden change of subject. "Pretty much."

"Stuart and Bonnie are good mammals," said Gruff, almost idly. "They have their little quirks and even prejudices, but so does everyone."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at-"

"Judy's a lot like them," said Gruff. He met Nick's eyes.

For a moment, Nick stared at him. "And I get along with her," he said slowly.

"Yep."

"So I should be able to get along with them."

"How do you act around her?"

Nick leaned on his club and thought about it. "What do you mean?"

"You're acting around Stuart, trying to be something you're not. How do you act around her?" Gruff kept his eyes on the fox, patiently waiting for his answer.

"I don't," said Nick, surprised at the realization. "I don't act around her."

"Well, you probably do a bit," said Gruff. "But in a good way."

"How do you mean?"

"We all act a bit differently around different mammals." The sheriff shouldered his bag. "There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with acting a bit differently with those we love, either. But being with someone should make you _act_ -" he put a bit of stress on the word "-better than you would otherwise do."

"What good is just acting better?" asked Nick. "I mean, if it's just an act-"

"The thing about acting that way is that most mammals can't pretend to be that way without eventually becoming the role. Learning to become the sort of mammal their loved ones see in them. It's how we make each other better." Gruff stretched. "You know, I think we can call this one a surrendered hole, as many strokes as you have."

Nick looked down at the ball, which sat partially covered with sand. "You know, this game would be a lot easier if they filled in all these pits. You'd think the groundskeepers would have sorted that out."

Gruff rolled his eyes and reached down to help Nick out of the sand trap. "You've got a lot to learn, Nick."

"Well, I did admit I've never played golf-"

"Yeah, that too."

Nick dusted the sand off his slacks. He looked at Gruff. "You really believe that? That if we put on an act long enough, we can eventually become the sort of mammal we're pretending to be?"

"I don't know." Gruff started walking. "The only one who can really answer that is you." He glanced over his shoulder. "Though I think I might have an idea how it's working out for you. _Officer_ Wilde."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The alleyway behind the restaurant in downtown Bunnyburrow was, in Claude's view, one of the worst places he had been in a long career of working for- _with_ \- Mr. Big's organization. Since he was in the business of killing mammals that crossed Mr. Big, this was saying something.

It wasn't the lack of cleanliness that bothered him. Sure, the alley was grimy and dirty, but compared to most alleyways he had seen in Zootopia it was remarkably well-kept. No piles of trash, puddles of urine, or comatose homeless mammals to be seen.

It wasn't the location in general. Bunnyburrow was remarkably unremarkable. He couldn't even hate the blandness of the place, because it would be like hating the color beige, or the smell of air.

No, what was slowly driving him up the wall was the odor coming from the restaurant.

"Do they deep-fry everything here?" he muttered angrily. "Their palates must be made of iron."

" _Mais oui, mon frere,_ " said one of his companions, who was holding his nose. "They are barbarians."

Claude sighed. "It is no matter. We do the job, then we go home." He got a dreamy look in his eye. "We shall celebrate at _Le Cochon Tres Cherc_."

"Ah, _tres bien!_ I shall have the _salade d'avocats, pommes et noix-"_

Claude realized they were getting distracted and interrupted him before the whole group started talking about their favorite foods. "Focus! We have the job to do, no? Then we shall have all the time in the world to forget this place and its-" he grimaced- "cuisine."

As if on cue, Pierre poked his head around the corner. "I have found them, but I do not see Hunter."

Claude glared at him. "What? Where is he? He should be with the rabbit and mongoose."

Pierre gave an apologetic shrug. "What can I say? He is not."

The head hitmammal drummed his fingers on a nearby crate irritably. "We shall spread out, find him. Etienne!"

" _Oui?_ "

"Go find Raymond. Tell the rhino to be ready- we may wish to use him later." Claude flicked his tail.

Etienne looked at him curiously. "Is he not part of the contract, Claude?"

"Of course he is. But there is no sense in not making use of him, _n'est-ce pas vrai?_ And if he gets killed by the human?" Claude shrugged.

"Then it makes the job a bit easier, no?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick followed the sheriff as they walked up to Stuart and Fluff, who were waiting somewhat patiently at the next tee. The rabbit watched him approach. "Finally make it out of there?" he asked dryly. "Or did you just dig your way all the way through the planet and back?"

The fox smiled weakly. "So I may have exaggerated a bit when I said I play golf."

Stu just looked at him. "Uh-huh."

"Mr. Hopps, look- I'm sorry." Nick took a deep breath. "I just wanted to get to know you and give you a chance to get to know me. That's all. It just seemed easier to do something you enjoyed together than sort of awkwardly hanging around hoping we figured each other out."

Stuart cocked an eyebrow at him, then looked at Gruff, who shrugged. "I think he's telling the truth," said Gruff. "He was just trying to be subtle."

"Sly," said Nick automatically. He winced as everyone looked at him. "Just a sort of joke."

The bunny chuckled. "Well, if we have to have a 'sly' fox, might as well be one that isn't very good at it. Tell you what, Nick, why don't I show you how to play? Who knows, maybe you might like it."

Nick felt a wave of relief. "I'd appreciate that, Mr. Hopps."

"Go ahead and tee up."

Most of the rest of the day seemed to go pretty well. Stuart corrected his stance and swing, instructed him on which club to use, and taught him the rules of the game. To his surprise, Nick found he did kind of enjoy it. Once he had better instruction than a half-remembered Zootube video, he even found he had some natural talent.

Not that it stopped Fluff from doggedly recording every missed stroke with vindictive glee. "I make it five hundred and sixty strokes above par for you, fox," said Fluff as he teed up at the last hole.

Nick glanced at him. "You know, there's really no point in keeping count. I think we know I lost."

"Just a friendly game," said Gruff tiredly to his deputy. "Relax."

"Remember to follow through," said Stuart, who was watching Nick critically. "You'll get another nasty slice if you chop at it like last time. Nice and smooth."

"Okay." Nick measured the swing and brought the club up above his head. He shot a look down the fairway at the green.

"So," said Stuart casually as Nick swung. "Judy was telling me about what you used to do before you joined the ZPD."

The golf club flew from Nick's suddenly nerveless fingers, describing a graceful arc some thirty meters along until it clattered onto the fairway.

Fluff frowned. "Does that count as a stroke?"

Nick stared at Stuart. "She told you?" he said faintly.

The bunny was staring open-mouthed at the club Nick had inadvertently thrown. "When I said follow through, I didn't mean all the way, Nick." He suddenly noticed Nick's face. "Sure, she told me."

"And you're okay with it?"

Stuart exchanged a puzzled look with Gruff. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm going to count it as two strokes," said Fluff. No one paid him any attention.

"You don't have any problem with me being a-" Nick tried to think of a fairly neutral term "-a confidence mammal."

Stuart's eyes widened. "A what?"

"A hustler," said Fluff helpfully. "A bunko artist. A grifter. A scammer-"

"Shut up, Fluff, Hunter already did that joke," snapped Nick.

"You were a con-mammal?" shouted Stuart. "A thief?"

"No, no! I never stole anything- I thought you said you knew!"

"Judy said you sold popsicles!" Stuart shook his head. "She lied to me? Or is that some new slang term you youngsters are using these days? This is 'twerking' all over again, isn't it?"

"Twerking?"

"Never mind!" Stuart grabbed his golf bag. "I knew it!"

"Stu- I'm sure there's some explanation," said Gruff. He tried to put a paw on the bunny's shoulder, but Stuart shook it off.

"Oh, I'm sure there is. I'm sure there's a great explanation for why my little girl is shacking up with some crooked fox and lying to me about him!" snarled Stuart. "I'm sure he had all sorts of explanations for her that made her forget who she was and how we raised her!" He started to walk away.

"Mr. Hopps," said Nick, following him. "Listen, that's not who I am anymore."

The bunny whirled on him, and Nick backed away to avoid being struck by the golf bag on his back. "Is that a fact?" Despite Stuart's shorter stature, the cold glare he turned on Nick made him feel tiny next to the bunny. "You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Judy believed that. It wouldn't surprise me if even you believed it, fox." He took a step towards Nick, who stepped back hurriedly. "But that's not a chance I'm willing to take. Not for my Judy." He started walking again.

"Where are you going, Stu?" called Gruff.

"Home. I'm going home, I'm going to talk to Bonnie, and then we're going to have a word with Judy," said Stuart over his shoulder, his eyes still flashing with anger. "And we'll just see about her and this fox."

Nick started to follow him again, but felt a strong paw grab his shoulder. He turned to look at Gruff's lined face. The sheriff shook his head. "Not right now, Nick."

"I need to talk to him," said Nick, desperately. "If Judy-"

"He's going to need a bit of time to cool down," said Gruff. "Come on. You can come back to the office with me for now. Maybe by tomorrow he'll be willing to listen to reason."

Nick opened his mouth, then shut it as he realized he had nothing to say. He looked down at the turf, shoving his paws in his pocket. "I guess you're right."

Fluff walked up, looked at Stuart- now almost back to the clubhouse, then at Gruff. "Game over, sheriff?"

"Looks like it."

The deputy held up his pad to Nick. "You lost by five hundred and-"

"Are you hungry, Fluff?" growled Nick.

The deputy frowned. "Why?"

"Because in a couple of seconds you're going to be eating that scorepad."

A/N

 _Two chapters in one day! I'm on fire!_

 _So why are the hit-mammals French? Because it's funny. If you don't believe me, read all their dialogue in an outrageous French accent like the Frenchmen in the castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You will then agree with me._

 _Apropos of that, some might wonder why the mammals of Zootopia speak the same language as the humans, and how there could be French speakers given the setting. Now, I could make up an elaborate explanatory back-story about how this happened, but it would be boring and not particularly relevant to the plot. So remember it's just a story and relax._

 _I don't know golf that well. I picked it for several reasons, but one was that I don't know much about it, so I can relate to Nick as he tries to bluff his way through it, which means that I can write the scene more effectively. So if I made a mistake with terminology or something, feel free to correct me. Because then I'll know, and Knowing is Half the Battle._

 _Same goes with the French- I learned some French a long time ago in school, but I've had to rely on half-remembered phrases with some assistance from Google Translate (yes, I know that's not a very good way to translate a language- I'm trying to use it only for very short phrases or single words). Again, if I got something wrong- I'm not one-hundred percent sure I have the context right for one or two of the phrases- please let me know._

 _Let me also add that I really appreciate the reviews from everyone. In particular thanks to those who reviewed frequently, like CaptainPrice79 and MartyrFan. Reviews are extremely helpful- I really enjoy the feedback and pay close attention to it. While the plot is mostly planned out, I have added a number of little things thanks to the feedback. For example, putting Hunter/Tavi ship-tease in and thus driving CaptainPrice79 crazy is now one of my greatest joys in life :)_


	32. Short Story Chapter 9

Hunter felt something poking him repeatedly in the side. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he said muzzily. "Did we get a call?"

"Yeah," said a voice. "Last call. That was fifteen minutes ago."

Hunter blinked as he slowly put together his surroundings. Sticky table, uncomfortable chair, the smell of stale alcohol- "I'm in a bar."

"Right. And now we want you out of the bar."

He looked at the owner of the voice, his eyes slowly focusing. "You're a rabbit."

The rabbit glanced at another, whom he vaguely remembered as the bartender. The bunny looked back at Hunter. "I'm the bouncer."

"A bunny bouncer, eh?"

"It's last call," said the bouncer, ignoring his comment. "Time to go home. Or wherever."

"Home," muttered Hunter. He sat up and stretched. "You can't go home again."

The bouncer rolled his eyes. "Spare me the drunk philosophy."

The bartender, on the other hand, frowned. "Why can't you go home?"

"It's an old saying, means that you can never revisit your past," explained the bouncer.

"Actually, it's because I'm wanted for murder and terrorist activities at home," said Hunter.

The bunnies looked at one another uneasily.

"Just joking."

"Really?" asked the bartender nervously.

"No. Look, maybe I can just take a little nap here-"

The bouncer shook his head. "Nope. Leave or I'll make you."

Hunter looked him up and down. "You know, you're fairly big for a bunny."

"Yeah."

"But you're still a damn bunny rabbit. I'll go when I damn well- ow!"

The bouncer zapped him again with the taser. "Out!"

Hunter jumped up. "Hey!"

The bouncer zapped him again and Hunter danced back. "All right, all right," he said. "I'm going."

He lurched out the door, stumbling slightly.

The bartender looked at the bouncer with relief. "Nice job."

"Thanks. I knew this fox taser Stu gave me would be useful. Never have used it on foxes, though."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter tried to remember where he was with relation to where he was going.

Then he tried to remember where he was going.

Failing at both tasks, and finding that the alcohol had worked its way through to his bladder, he decided to just go. There was an alleyway nearby that suited his intentions nicely. He leaned against the wall and was mid-stream when he heard a voice.

"Ah, just what I've been waiting for."

Hunter looked down, then down the alley. He couldn't make anyone out in the darkness. "You were waiting for someone to take a leak?"

"I was waiting for you, Monsieur Hunter," said the accented voice.

Hunter squinted, still trying to see the voice's owner. "You were waiting for me to take a leak?"

"Not precisely." A figure walked out of the darkness.

Hunter looked down, then further down as he zipped up. "This is a joke, right?"

The squirrel, nattily dressed in a suit and tie, smiled superciliously at him. "If it is, Monsieur Hunter, then the joke is, as you say, on you."

The human turned to face the squirrel. "What do you want?"

"It is no small matter to cross a member of Mr. Big's organization, Hunter," said the squirrel.

"I was just taking back what was mine," said Hunter. "A measly five hundred dollars. He sent a-" he paused ro think "-a hit-squirrel for that?"

"The gain may have been small for you, Hunter, but the price is always the same." The squirrel reached for something on his back. Something with a sharp point that glittered in what little light entered the alley.

"So what, you're going to poke me to death with a tiny little squirrel sword? Seriously, what kind of amateurs are you?"

"Not a sword, Hunter. A syringe. Filled with a poison- a poison most deadly," said the squirrel, his tone cold. "You will feel a little prick, then-" the squirrel spread his paws "-you will feel nothing."

"Look, I know I'm a bit drunk, but I'm not going to feel your little prick. No offense- I just don't swing that way," said Hunter, backing up slightly as the squirrel moved forward.

"Is everything a joke to you, Monsieur Hunter?" said the squirrel, an exasperated tone creeping into his voice.

"Well, in fairness, you did pretty much set yourself up for that one."

"Perhaps. But it was not only myself that was, as you say, set up."

Hunter felt more than saw the small figure that leapt from the roof, holding a syringe that glittered as it caught the lamplight. Acting instinctively, he ducked, feeling tiny claws grip his hair.

" _En avant!_ " shouted a high-pitched voice. Hunter swung at the squirrel riding atop his head, but missed. However, his wild, surprised swing- in conjunction with the sudden extra weight throwing off his balance- caused him to topple over.

Well, being fairly drunk probably was a factor, too. Regardless, the squirrel lost his grip, rolling across the ground as Hunter scrambled to his feet. The rodent's beady eyes fixed on his as it glared at him. Hunter noticed another syringe gripped in its paws, and shuddered- all it needed to do was poke him...

Two more squirrels appeared on either side, while the first moved closer. "It will be much easier, Monsieur Hunter, if you just stop struggling," said the first squirrel.

"Easier for me?" said Hunter, backing up to try and keep all of them in his field of view. He was well into the street now- a quick glance showed him the small downtown area of the village was deserted.

In answer, the squirrel shrugged.

Hunter stood up and squared his shoulders- a little shakily, it must be admitted. He glared down at the advancing squirrels. "Are you guys really this stupid? Haven't you even heard of me?"

"We've heard all-" began their leader.

Hunter took a step towards them, now. The squirrels hesitated, two of the four taking nervous steps back. "You heard what I used to do on AlphaCen? I rode night shift in one of the toughest beats in a damned tough city. The survival rate for most officers was about three years." He took another step forward, the squirrels backing off nervously. "I lasted over _twenty_. I was the hunter, never the hunted."

The leader swallowed slightly, a note of trepidation creeping into his smug voice. "Ah, but that was then, Monsieur Hunter, and this is now. We are not like the others you may have fought."

"No." Hunter smiled at them, and they flinched. "You're a lot smaller, for one thing. And tasty, too. I know a pretty good recipe for squirrel- cook them in madeira, if I remember right."

The squirrels all glanced at one another queasily. "Barbarian," muttered one.

"Maybe. But the thing about barbarians is, we know how to fight." Hunter gauged their positions and stances carefully. He took one further step. The squirrels backed away slightly- leaving an opening. "And when not to," he added.

Hunter whirled and ran.

The squirrels gaped at him, until the leader recovered from his surprise. "After him! Do not let him escape!"

The thing was, everything Hunter had said was true. And while certainly he had learned to fight on the mean streets of AlphaCen, he had also learned the wisdom of not fighting. The squirrels were fast, small, mean, and he was somewhat drunk- he weaved slightly as he dashed away. And if just one connected with one of those syringes- well.

Hunter fled.

He glanced behind him. The squirrels were fast, but already appeared to be flagging- humans tended to have much more endurance than most other mammals, and the syringes the squirrels wielded were quite heavy for them. It looked like he was going to make it-

Suddenly, he felt something grasp his collar, jerking him off his feet. Quite literally- he was raised up in the air, then turned to face his captor.

Hunter grinned weakly as he looked into the narrowed eyes of Raymond Charger.

"Hello, Raymond," he said. "Wow, Bunnyburrow sure is popular with the tourists these days, huh?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick slumped in the passenger seat of the police cruiser. "Thanks for the ride," he said to the driver, Sheriff Gruff. "And the place to stay."

"No problem," said Gruff. "Not exactly a whole lot of hotels in this town, after all. I hope you don't mind the room- it's just a little one with a cot."

"Better than sleeping on the streets."

"True."

The radio crackled. "Hey, sheriff."

"Hey, Mosie," answered Gruff. "Long night?"

"Quiet, mostly. But there's a call coming in now. Might be a prank- claims a human is running around downtown, drunk."

Nick covered his eyes as the sheriff frowned. "Well, there is a human in town. Would he be likely to-" he looked at Nick who was carefully avoiding his gaze, and his frown deepened.

"He has a knack for getting into trouble," admitted Nick.

The sheriff's eyes narrowed, and he let out a snort of annoyance. "Okay, Mosie. We'll check it out on the way."

"Corner of Watership and Downs, near the old bakery. Let me know if you need back-up."

"Why? There's no one around to help anyway."

"There's deputy Fluff-"

"Like I said."

Gruff turned the patrol car around.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well done, Monsieur Charger," said Claude as he approached. He paused. "Though why are you shaking him upside-down like that?"

The rhino stopped. Hunter, still dangling upside-down, looked more than a bit green. "Turnabout is fair play."

Hunter pointed up at him groggily. "I see what you did there. Turnabout, because I'm upside down. I get it." He twisted to look at Claude as he approached. "Hey, let's start over."

"Cooked in madeira, Monsieur Hunter?" said Claude, his voice ominous. "Isn't that what you said?"

Hunter grimaced. "Would you prefer cabernet sauvignon?"

"No, of course not. I think a very light, sweet red would-" Claude noticed his brothers all eyeing him. "What?"

Etienne spoke up. "You've thought about this?"

"Merely as an exercise-"

"That's a bit strange, Claude."

The squirrel made a slashing motion with his paw. "It is no matter. Now." He gave Etienne a significant look. "It is time, Etienne."

The two squirrels started to advance on Hunter and Raymond.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter stared at the two squirrels, and felt resigned.

He had tried. It wasn't exactly the end he had been expecting- psychotic squirrels with ridiculous accents had never really been something he had feared- but maybe it was the end he was going to get.

He'd never been religious. But maybe he'd at least get to see his daughters again.

The squirrels moved with a casual, but somehow cautious gait. Part of his mind wondered about that- what could he do to stop them, in his current condition? Why so careful?

His eyes traced the silvery gleam of the syringes, and something clicked.

"Hey, Raymond."

The squirrels paused as Raymond raised him up a bit higher to look at him. "Yeah? Any last words?"

"Yep. Just had a thought. Look at your buddies, there. See the syringes?"

The squirrels shifted uncomfortably as Raymond turned to look at them. "Yeah, they told me about it. Poisoned."

"One little prick, isn't that right?" Hunter twisted his head to look at them. "Yet there's two of them coming after me."

"So? And what about the syringes?"

"One of these things isn't like the other things," said Hunter. He pointed at Etienne. "That one is carrying a syringe that's a whole hell of a lot thicker."

"Thicker-" Raymond frowned.

Hunter decided not to make the obvious joke about Raymond's intelligence, proving that he could be smart once in a while. "Thicker. Like your skin. Why do you suppose they have a syringe that looks to be designed for a rhino?"

Raymond stared at him, then looked at the squirrels.

Claude didn't hesitate. "Now!" He and Etienne lunged forward, Etienne rushing towards the rhino's leg.

Raymond reacted, instinctively swinging at the killer squirrel. Unfortunately, he used the paw that was holding Hunter by the ankle.

Hunter saw stars as his head smacked into the squirrel, who was thrown into a nearby wall. Claude danced back as Raymond swung the human back at him. The other squirrels prepared to charge.

Raymond backed up against the wall.

A siren sounded down the street, and red and blue lights flickered across the scene.

Claude paused, then swore. "Retreat! _Gendarmes_!"

As the patrol car moved closer, the squirrels melted into the night, two of them helping Etienne up and disappearing down the alley.

The police car pulled up, and a spot-light fell on Raymond as he stared in surprise.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Gruff stared at the scene.

A rhinoceros held Hunter by an ankle, dangling him over the street below.

Nick and Gruff shared a glance, then jumped from the opposite sides of the patrol car. "Sheriff's department!" shouted Gruff. "Drop the human!"

"No, wait!" said Hunter, but it was too late. Raymond let go, causing Hunter to fall a couple of feet onto the hard concrete. The human groaned.

"Thanks, sheriff."

Nick was already approaching, cautiously watching the rhino, who seemed utterly confused. "Are you okay, Hunter?"

Shakily, the human clambered to his feet, swaying from side to side. "Maybe."

"Paws behind your back," ordered the sheriff.

Raymond, astonishingly, looked at Hunter, who nodded. "Don't worry," he told him. "I think we're on the same side right now."

Nick and Gruff traded confused looks.

The rhino allowed himself to be cuffed. Nick looked over Hunter, his eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"Well," said Hunter, slurring his words slightly. "This is Raymond Charger."

"From the mob family?" said Nick, glancing at the rhino. "He tried to hurt you?"

"Well, more like succeeded. But it's okay. See, I was attacked by a group of assassin squirrels, and-"

"Did you say assassin squirrels?" asked Gruff, suspiciously.

Hunter looked at him. "Yeah, so?"

"Assassin squirrels."

"I take it that's not common?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Oh, good. I was worried that everyone knew about them and just hadn't told me." Hunter weaved as he made his way to the patrol car and leaned against it. "So anyway-"

Gruff approached him warily, sniffing the air. "Mr. Hunter, have you been drinking?"

"No! Well, yes. But there really are assassin squirrels, with syringes full of poison, see-"

Nick coughed. "Maybe you should save this for later, Hunter-"

Gruff eyed him. "So you were attacked by assassin squirrels, and a mobster rhino."

"Well, yeah, but I think the squirrels are after him, too-"

"Maybe you need to get a bit of rest, Mr. Hunter."

The human glared at him. "Look, Gruff, I-" he paused, suddenly turning green. "I-"

Then he threw up on Gruff's uniform.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This is not what I expected," muttered Hunter from within the jail cell.

Nick, who was lying on a cot just outside the cell, glanced at him. "Hunter, I kinda believe you, and this is exactly what I was expecting."

"Could you two keep it down?" asked Raymond, from the next cell over. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

 _A/N:_

 _So first of all, I'm sorry about the long delay. Been having a bit of a rough time of it lately, and so I haven't been in the mood much for writing. I'll try to speed it up a bit, though. I'd like to have this story done by early June at the latest._

 _The "cooking squirrel in madeira" is a very obscure reference. Anyone that gets it let me know- I'm genuinely curious._

 _Thanks for reading- haven't said that in a while, so I figured I'd throw it in. I really appreciate the feedback, comments, and everything- it helps me to know folks are enjoying this._


	33. Short Story Chap 10

Judy paced the living room of her home, glancing at the clock periodically. Tavi, who was playing a video game with some of her younger siblings, kept shooting worried looks at her. Thus far, she had decided not to say anything.

When Stuart had come home, he had immediately tossed his golf clubs in the corner next to the front door and stalked off to find Bonnie. Since then- almost two hours ago- Judy's parents hadn't come out of their room, though she could hear their voices periodically through the door.

Nick was nowhere to be found.

She started to reach for her cell phone again, remembering for the fifth time that Nick's phone was currently broken. The fact that was her fault didn't help her increasingly frustrated mood.

"Where is he?"

Tavi silently noted that this was the eleventh time she had said that. Cautiously, she replied. "I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he just went to find Zach."

Judy sat heavily in a chair. "At a bar?" she muttered. "Clearly things didn't go well."

"Have you tried calling Hunter?"

"Yes. Five times. He's not answering."

Tavi handed the controller over to one of the bunnies, who eagerly took over the game. "Maybe we should go look for them-"

Judy's phone rang.

Moving so fast Tavi barely had time to see her hit the "Answer" prompt, Judy had it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Carrots? It's me."

She let out a relieved sigh. "Nick? Where are you? What happened?"

"Um, well, things didn't go too well at the golf game," said the fox resignedly.

"I gathered." She heard another burst of shouting from her parent's room- it sounded like her dad- and winced. "What happened- wait, where are you, anyway?"

There was a long pause. "I'm at the jail."

Judy closed her eyes. "You're in jail."

"No, see, I knew you'd think that- I specifically said _at_ the jail, not in it. The preposition is very important."

"Okay. Why?"

"The sheriff had a spare room. Um, your dad and I- well, he found out what I used to do for a living, and sort of hit the roof."

Judy blinked. "How did he- why on earth would you tell him?"

"He said you told him! I thought he knew!" Nick's voice suddenly turned pensive. "Though I did kind of wonder about how well he took it."

Taking a deep breath, Judy thought it over. "Okay. Fine. We'll figure this out."

Tavi leaned forward. "What about Hunter? Has Nick heard from him?"

Nick apparently heard her. "Um, yeah. He's here with me."

"At the jail?"

Another long pause. "Different preposition."

Judy and Tavi shared a look, and Judy rubbed her forehead with a paw, trying to stave off a sudden headache. "He's in jail," she said flatly.

"Just public intoxication. Just until he sobers up."

"Public intoxication."

"Yeah, he- okay, look, this is important. He was attacked by some mob assassins, but the sheriff didn't believe him."

"Uh-huh. Imagine that." Judy's tone was still flat, the tone of someone who had given up on optimism, the only emotion remaining morbid curiosity about how bad things were going to get.

"They were squirrels," said Nick.

"Assassin squirrels," repeated Judy. Tavi blinked and flicked her ears in confusion.

"They apparently had thick French accents and were armed with poison needles," Nick continued, determined to persevere through the whole story.

"Right."

"They were going to betray the rhino mobster who Hunter shook down- he's here, too, in the jail- and so he's on our side now. He saved Hunter's life by hitting, er, them with, well, him."

"Hitting the squirrels with Hunter."

"Right."

"And now he wants us to keep the mobster here at my family's home."

"Yes," said Nick reluctantly.

"And we can expect an imminent attack from poison-bearing assassin squirrels."

"That more or less sums it up." There was a long silence as he waited. "Are you okay, Judy?"

She hung up and stared at her phone.

Tavi smiled nervously. "It could be worse," she offered.

Judy just looked at her.

She coughed and looked away. "So, um, it's a bit unbelievable, huh?"

"That's the worst part," said Judy. "I believe every word."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Etienne let out a groan as one of his brothers popped his dislocated shoulder back into place. " _Merde,_ " he muttered. He glared at Claude. "What do we do now? The rhino, he is alert."

The leader of the assassins glared back. "We continue with the contract. We are the best, Etienne. The rhino is stupid, the human- well, he is wiser than I expected."

"He'll be waiting for us now," warned Pierre.

"Then he will have time to contemplate his fate," said Claude, his voice confident. He pulled out a cell phone. "We will summon reinforcements."

He dialed, and after a moment a voice answered. " _Bonjour?"_

"Francois? It looks like we will need your help after all."

" _C'est la vie._ How many should I bring?"

Claude looked at Etienne, who was shakily rising to his feet. "Everyone." He smiled.

"And bring the special weapons, as well."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter blinked at the sunlight shining through the barred window of the cell. He stretched and got up, wincing slightly as strained muscles twinged. He walked to the door of the cell and looked out at Nick, sleeping on a nearby cot. "Hey, wake up."

Nick mumbled something and rolled over.

"Nick. Wake up!"

The fox didn't stir.

Hunter took off his shoe and took aim.

"Ow!" said Nick. He sat up, and looked around in confusion until he saw the shoe lying next to him. "Did you just throw your shoe at me?"

"Go get the sheriff and tell him to let me and Ray out of here. We've got to get a move-on." Hunter glanced at the rhino, sleeping in the next cell over, as Raymond let out a loud snore. "Got hit-squirrels to outwit."

Grumbling, Nick put on his shoes. "Since when are you in such a hurry in the morning?"

"It's amazing how having someone trying to kill you provides motivation."

"I'll remember that the next time it's your turn to take out the trash," muttered Nick.

As Hunter started to reply, the door to the jail area opened and Deputy Fluff walked in. He gave Nick an unfriendly look before turning an even harder glare on Hunter and Raymond. "Sheriff says you're free to go."

Hunter nodded. "Great, let us out then."

Fluff shrugged. "Door's unlocked."

The human rolled his eyes. "I mean out of the cells."

"I know."

Hunter peered at him, then looked at the cell door, then back at the deputy. Cautiously, he pushed on the door.

It swung open.

"Lost the key about five years ago," said Fluff. He walked to the small corner desk and sat down, putting his feet up.

Hunter walked out of the cell and looked back at it. "You don't lock the cells."

"Well, can't, actually. No key, like I said," replied Fluff.

For a long moment, Hunter stared at him, then with a sigh walked into Raymond's cell. He nudged the sleeping rhino with his foot. "Rise and shine."

Raymond shook his head as he blinked his way to consciousness. He frowned as he focused his gaze on Hunter, standing over him. "Wasn't I supposed to kill you?"

"Yeah, but we're friends now. Try to keep up." He looked at Nick. "So how are we getting back to Judy's place?"

Nick shrugged. "Walk?"

"Long way to walk."

"Sheriff called someone to come get you," said Fluff, who was listening with half an ear- he literally had one ear half-swiveled towards them. "He should be here any minute."

A fox, wearing overalls and a flannel shirt, poked his head in the office. "Hey, deputy. You said someone needed a ride to the Hopps's place?"

The three other mammals all looked at him curiously as Fluff replied. "That's right, Gideon. This is Hunter, the fox is Wilde, and the rhino is-" he paused, trying to remember the rhino's name.

"Who are you, exactly?" asked Hunter suspiciously as Fluff hesitated.

The newcomer walked in and extended a paw. "Gideon Grey. I work with Stuart sometimes, and I was headed his way. The sheriff asked if I minded giving you a lift."

Hunter shook his paw. "Okay," he said dubiously. "And you don't mind?"

"Well, if you don't mind riding in the back of my delivery van. Heard you're friends of Judy's." He looked slightly embarrassed. "I reckon I owe her a favor or two."

Now it was Nick's turn to look suspicious. "Why?"

Grey coughed. "Ancient history."

"Well, okay," said Hunter. He looked at Nick. "We do need a ride."

They all followed Gideon outside. Raymond, who was still somewhat surly from being awakened, brightened somewhat when he saw the van. "You're a baker?"

"Yep. Best pies in Bunnyburrow," said Gideon. "Or at least, I try."

"Get in the van, Ray. We need to talk." Hunter gave the rhino a slight shove, which he completely failed to notice.

Nick looked at the dimensions of the van, compared it to the size of Raymond, and made a decision. "I'll ride up front."

Hunter shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll talk to the rhino, fill you in later." He walked to the rear of the van, followed by Raymond. "Let's go."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy poked her head into the travel trailer. "Tavi?"

The mongoose looked up from where she was standing near Hunter's luggage, surprised. "Judy? What's up?"

The bunny blinked at her. "What are you doing in here?"

"Packing," she said, unfazed. "Hunter called me from the- Hunter called me. He's planning to leave as soon as possible."

"Leave?" Judy stepped up into the trailer, wrinkling her nose slightly at the odor of fish inside. "He's leaving?"

Tavi zipped one of Hunter's bags closed. "He wants to get away from here- because of the assassins," she added hastily. "He's worried someone else might get hurt."

Judy frowned, irritated. "I think we've shown we can take care of ourselves-"

"Not you or Nick," said Tavi. She looked at Judy. "Your family."

Feeling suddenly ashamed, Judy nodded. "Oh."

"Though I'm sure he wouldn't want you two in the cross-fire, either." Tavi eyed her. "You want to see something strange?"

"After everything else that's been going on? No."

Tavi ignored her, hopping up onto a small table. "Look at this."

She held up a framed document. Judy looked at it curiously. "An award? So what? Lots of people frame their awards."

Tavi shook her head. "It's not Hunter's." She handed it to Judy. "It's yours."

Judy blinked as she read it. "Citation- Medal of Valor-" she read. She looked up at Tavi. "Why on earth does he have one of my citations framed?"

"Not just you." She showed another one. "This is mine. There's some of Nick's, and then some from FLPD. Arrizondo, Warner, Nguyen-"

"What about for him?"

"None that I've found. Though for all I know he's never gotten any."

Judy put the award down, puzzled. "Strange."

"I know, right?" Tavi hopped down and looked up at her friend. "So what's up?"

Judy sighed. "Nick, Hunter, and the low-life criminal they've suddenly befriended are on the way back."

"Okay, good!" Then Tavi paused. "Oh. Your parents."

"They want to have a talk with me," said Judy ominously. "Dad seems pretty upset, and even Mom doesn't seem happy."

"They were going to find out about Nick's past sooner or later," said Tavi.

"Were they?" Judy shook her head. "Maybe, maybe not. I just wish they could seem him for who he really is, now, not what he used to be."

"They just need to get to know him," Tavi said reassuringly. "He's a good mammal, and they'll see that in time."

"That's just what I'm worried about," said Judy quietly. "Will they see that in time? Or is it too late already?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So Mr. Big wants me dead?" said Hunter to Raymond. His eyes narrowed. "I'm not paying for that pie."

The rhino looked at him, wiping cherry filling from his mouth. "I haven't eaten breakfast."

"You know this Grey character is doing us a favor, right? Besides, pie isn't exactly the healthiest first meal of the day."

"Who cares?" said Raymond. His tone turned somber. "We're just going to be killed by the squirrels anyway."

Hunter shook his head. "Nope. You're not going to die because you're a key witness. And I'm not going to die because I will not have 'killed by assassin squirrels with ridiculous accents' on my gravestone."

"I don't think they'd put that on your gravestone."

"First of all, that was a joke, and second, yes they would." Hunter leaned back. "Mr. Big is the top dog in the Zootopian underworld, huh?"

"Shrew."

"Stop being so literal, it annoys me. What's the big deal, anyway? Why risk going to war over a measly five hundred bucks?"

Raymond shrugged. "Beats me. I mean, you did embarrass his whole organization by shaking me down."

"Yeah, but- there's something else going on here. Even the syndicates on AlphaCen think twice before messing with the cops," said Hunter thoughtfully.

"And more importantly," said Raymond, who appeared to have not heard him, "why'd they go after me?"

"Well, that's easy. You're the fall guy."

"The what?"

"The patsy. The dupe. The scapegoat."

"I'm a rhino, not a goat."

Hunter eyed him. "You okay with dupe?"

Raymond considered it, then nodded. "Sure."

"Thought so."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gideon cleared his throat. "So you're Judy's partner in the ZPD, huh?"

"Yes," said Nick warily.

There was a slight pause. "And her, um, partner?" said Gideon, carefully.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Where'd you hear that?" he asked, keeping his voice noncommittal.

"Rumor spreads fast in a small town. Oh, sure, her parents don't talk about it, but- they have a lot of kits."

"Ah." Nick considered lying, but decided it wasn't worth it. "Yeah, we've been together for a while now."

"Okay," said Gideon. "As long as you're happy."

Nick eyed him. It wasn't entirely unusual to have someone accept he and Judy's relationship, but it was enough of an oddity that it made him suspicious. "You're okay with that?"

Gideon shrugged. "None of my business, really. But sure, I think it's fine."

Nick looked out the window. "Wish everyone thought that way."

"I think most mammals are coming around. It's hard to stay angry at folks for just being happy."

"You would think so," said Nick quietly.

After a moment, Gideon spoke again. "It's not really my business, but- it's Bonnie and Stuart, huh?"

"A bit," admitted Nick. He looked at Gideon speculatively. "You said you work with them."

"Yep."

"And you get along fine."

"Sure do."

"And you're a fox."

Gideon smiled. "I think I see where you're going with that."

Nick rolled his eyes. "So?"

For a while, Gideon didn't say anything, concentrating on his driving. Finally, he spoke. "I had some issues when I was growing up. I even-" he hesitated, casting a nervous look at Nick before continuing "-bullied Judy when we were children."

Nick felt an instinctive, protective anger, but forced it down- it was clearly long in the past. "I see," he said slowly.

Gideon appeared relieved. "So it was sort of an uphill battle for me. Real easy for me to blame other mammals for my bad behavior- and it becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. I acted badly, other folks didn't like me for it, and I would see it as confirmation that I wasn't going to get a fair shake. Makes you bitter."

Nick stiffened, hearing his own thoughts from so long ago put so neatly into words.

"It took getting into a fair bit of trouble for me- and seeing a therapist for a while- for me to realize how self-destructive I was being," continued Gideon. He blinked, then looked at Nick. "Not that I'm saying you are anything like I was- I mean, you're a big hero. I'm just saying-"

Nick shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So how did you manage to get on Stuart and Bonnie's good side?"

"I changed," he said simply. "And it wasn't just a matter of telling everyone I was a better mammal. I had to prove it, too. I worked hard, made amends where I could, and kept my word. It took time, but- you can't change someone's mind by living up- or down- to their expectations."

Nick sighed. "Sometimes you can't change someone's mind at all."

Gideon nodded. "Sure. But what else can you do?" He glanced at Nick, noting the other fox's downcast expression. "Maybe you got off on the wrong paw with Bonnie and Stuart. But they'll come around. Just show them what kind of mammal you are."

Nick sighed. "I-"

"That's odd."

Nick looked at Gideon curiously. "What?"

The other fox was frowning at his driver's side mirror. "Not often you see that," he said, musingly.

"What?" Nick looked at the other mirror, but the angle was wrong- he could barely see behind them at all.

"A motorcycle gang in Bunnyburrow. Especially a squirrel motorcycle gang."

"Squirrel?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hunter was watching Raymond engulf his fourth pie when he heard a clanging noise from the back of the van. He and the rhino both frowned at the back door. "What-"

A squirrel's face appeared in the small window, which grinned nastily when it saw them. Hunter swore and jumped up, grabbing one of the interior shelves for balance.

The van's doors swung open and a squirrel hopped inside.

Hunter grabbed the first thing he could reach and threw it at the squirrel.

The croissant flew true, striking the squirrel dead center and knocking it out of the van with a surprised squeak.

"The squirrels!" shouted Raymond in terror. "They found us!"

"You're going to be extremely embarrassed if those turn out to be your last words," said Hunter. He peered out the doors, and stared in astonishment.

About a score of squirrels riding tiny motorcycles closed on the van. Several had side cars.

Hunter shook his head. "I hate this planet."

"Monsieur Hunter!" shouted one squirrel, his eyes hidden behind tiny, adorable goggles. "We meet again!"

"Howdy, Claude," shouted Hunter. He reached back and grabbed a cream pie. He looked at his improvised weapon and sighed before turning back to Claude. "Don't come any closer or I'll cream you!"

Raymond chuckled. "I get it, because it's a cream pie-"

"Don't explain the joke, Ray. It wasn't very good to start with."

"Monsieur Hunter!" Claude revved his motorcycle closer. Another one, with a sidecar, kept pace. "If you jump out now, then I will spare your friends! Otherwise-" the squirrel gave an expressive shrug, one paw raised palm-upwards. "I can leave no witnesses."

In answer, Hunter threw the pie. Claude swerved, narrowly avoiding it.

Hunter looked at Raymond. "Don't worry- they can't stick us with those poison syringes from here."

The squirrel in the sidecar raised something to his shoulder, something that looked suspiciously like a squirrel-sized rocket launcher.

Hunter and Raymond shared a surprised look before diving to the floor of the van as the squirrel fired.

They heard the a hissing sound and a thump above them. They both looked up to see a dart shivering in the roof of the van. Hunter had no doubt it was poisoned, too.

" _A l'attaque!_ " shouted Claude. The roadway filled with the sound of revving motorcycles.

"I really, really hate this planet," muttered Hunter.

 _A/N_

 _You know, I would really like this series to take off a bit more in the fandom, and partly that's because I, like anyone, appreciate recognition. Mostly, however, it's because maybe then someone with drawing talent will do fan art of scenes like this. I love the mental image of twenty squirrels on motorcycles, with Hunter throwing pies and other baking goods at them._

 _As a quick side-note- I noticed a while ago that I rather consistently referred to Sahara Square as Savannah Square in the prior stories. I have no idea why. I'll be fixing that error in the future. My apologies if that mistake annoyed anyone too much :)_


	34. Short Story Chap 11

Judy had finally had enough. Screwing up her courage- it was amazing how one's parents could make you feel so small, no matter how old you were- she prepared to march to her parent's door and knock. She had to know what was going on.

She had barely taken one step from the spacious living area when Bonnie and Stuart appeared from the hallway.

They saw her and stopped. "Judy," said Stuart firmly. "We need to talk to you."

"I was just about to say the same thing," said Judy, standing her ground. "Listen, I don't know what happened with you and Nick-"

"What happened, Judy, is that he told me what he was before he was a cop," said Stuart icily. "A con artist? What on earth makes you think you can trust him?"

"Because he's proved it many times, Dad!"

"Judy," said her mother, her tone calm but worried, "that's exactly what mammals like that do. They make you think you can trust them, then when you least expect it, when it serves their purpose, they betray you." She shook her head. "And worse, you've been friends with him almost since you met. You didn't even wait to see what kind of mammal he was."

Judy took a deep breath, counting down from ten in her head as Bonnie finished. "That's not true, mom," she said. "The Night Howler case- I couldn't have done it without him. And since then- well, he's-" she hesitated. "He's always been there for me," she finished, changing it from "he's saved my life". No since in bringing that up again-

Apparently the subtext did not go unnoticed, however. "That's another thing. We know your job can be dangerous, but it's only been a few years," said Bonnie. "But what sorts of cases are you getting into? You never explained what happened during that first time, with the bomb on the train, or the Raid. A lot of officers were killed- how were you involved? What do they have you doing?" Her voice broke slightly at the end, and Stuart gave her a concerned look.

Judy looked away, unsure how to respond. "There's just been a lot of strange stuff going on recently, mom. What with the humans showing up and all. But you have to understand, most of the time it's not like that. Most of the time, things are pretty normal."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You need to drive faster!" shouted Nick as he stuck his head out the window. Behind him, he saw several squirrels catching up to the bakery truck.

Gideon's eyes were wide, and he kept glancing at his mirrors. "What in the blazes is going on here?"

"It's a long story. The bottom line is that those are assassins who are trying to kill Hunter- the human."

Gideon gaped at him. "What?"

Nick threw up his paws in frustration. "Okay, new bottom line. Drive faster!"

The rear view mirror on Nick's side suddenly shattered, and he ducked. Gideon blinked, then slammed on the accelerator.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Custard," said Ray, handing another pie to Hunter.

"You don't actually have to tell me what it is," said Hunter as he threw it at the pursuing squirrels. He'd only hit one so far, but he was frequently forcing them to swerve, throwing off their aim and causing them to lose a bit of ground.

The pie splashed, and his target swerved slightly too late, the wheels sliding in the pie. The squirrel skidded out of control and off the roadway.

"See?" said Ray. "Custard is more likely to make them skid." He handed another pie to Hunter. "Cherry."

Hunter glared at him, then stood up to toss the pie. Just as he did, the van abruptly accelerated, and he lost his balance, falling forward towards the roadway behind them.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"We're coming up on the Hopps farm now," said Gideon, his voice strained.

Nick glanced out the window again. The small motorcycles didn't seem able to keep up with the much larger van- they were falling behind a bit. "Maybe you shouldn't lead them to Judy's place-" he began.

He was cut off as Gideon swerved into a turn. He just barely had time to realize it was the turn-off to the Hopps farm before he was thrown against the side of the van.

"What were you saying?" asked Gideon as he managed to reorient himself.

"I was saying," said Nick, "that we probably shouldn't lead them to Judy's place! We don't want to lead a bunch of assassin's to them!"

"Oh," said Gideon. "Didn't think of that."

"Well, whatever. Take another turn. We'll think of something," said Nick. He looked back out the window again.

"Um. Look, I'm not really good at this sort of thing. So. Um."

Nick frowned at Gideon. "What? Spit it out."

"That was the last turn to the farm. It's just a straight shot from here."

The fox swore under his breath. "Then drive past it."

"The road ends at the farm." Gideon quailed at his glare. "I'm sorry!"

"Fine," said Nick. "It can't really get any worse at least."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Well_ , thought Hunter, _it could be worse._

He had managed to catch himself, after all. So instead of hitting the ground and rolling at around sixty miles per hour, he was instead clinging onto the back of a van moving at that speed. By swinging his feet up, he had even managed to keep from being dragged along, which would have been pretty painful.

And the squirrels appeared to be out of range of their bazooka dart launcher things.

On the other hand, it could be a lot better, as well.

Ray's face appeared above him. "Are you okay?" he asked, apparently seriously.

Hunter shook his head. "Give me a paw, will you?"

The rhino helped him back into the van. Hunter looked back at their pursuers. "Well, it looks like we're losing them. Thank God that's over." He then paused, looking around at the scenery. "Hey, isn't this the road to Judy's house?"

"Who?"

"And that road dead-ends at the farm," said Hunter, frowning. "In fact-"

The van slammed to a halt, and he and Raymond were thrown towards the front of the cargo compartment.

Hunter picked himself up off the floor, wiping the remnants of a blueberry pie that had fallen on his head from his face. "Remind me not to tip the driver," he muttered.

He looked out the back.

In the distance, he could hear the whining of tiny motorcycles.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Um, Judy?"

Tavi had wanted to walk out of the room when her friend confronted Bonnie and Stuart, but hadn't been able to get by them. So instead, she had- as unobtrusively as possible- stayed quietly by the front of the room and looked out the window, trying not to listen in. Which is why she saw the bakery van skid to a halt in front of the house.

Nick and another fox jumped out of the van, quickly joined by Hunter- what was all that blue stuff on him?- and a rhinoceros. Without looking back, they all ran towards the house.

"Judy!"

All three of the rabbits turned to her. "What is it, Tavi?" asked Judy, barely keeping her tone civil.

The front door burst open.

Nick flung himself through, stopping short when the three Hopps's eyes swung to him. His own eyes widened in surprise and trepidation. "Um-"

He was knocked to the ground by Gideon when the plump fox failed to see him. The two foxes crashed to the ground.

Finally, Hunter came through the door. Or tried, at least. It was larger than would necessarily be expected, so that the Hoppses could have larger species as guests, but it was still intended for much smaller animals than a human. Hunter made it a good portion of the way before getting wedged in place about halfway through the door.

"Well, damn," he muttered.

Judy, Bonnie, and Stuart gaped at the sudden deluge of unexpected arrivals. "What is going on?" said Bonnie, the first to recover.

Nick shouldered Gideon off from on top of him and jumped to his feet. "Squirrels!" he explained.

There was a short silence.

"That's really not a clear answer," said Bonnie.

"Is that some kind of street slang?" demanded Stuart.

Judy, however, blinked, her ears snapping up. "The assassins?"

"The what?" asked Stuart, still gaping at Hunter, who grunted as he tried to get through the door.

"They're right behind us," said Nick. He saw Hunter. "Hunter! Why the hell did you try to come in the door?"

"I don't know, I was just following all of you guys." He looked around. "Nice place, though."

Judy hurried towards him. "Come on, help me get him inside." The inside of the living room was at least large enough for him to fit, though he'd never be able to get further inside the house. She tugged at Hunter. "This all comes from eating too much," she told him.

He tried sucking in his gut a bit more. "This all comes from front doors not being big enough," he said.

Tavi, meanwhile, was still looking out the window as Nick and Judy- soon joined by a confused Gideon, Bonnie, and Stuart- continued yanking at Hunter. "They're here!" she shouted to them. She blinked. "There's something like a couple dozen of them."

"Nah, only about twenty, maybe a few. I nailed a couple of them with baked goods."

"You what?" said Gideon. " _My_ baked goods?"

"Really not the time!"

Finally, Hunter managed to turn enough to slide through the front door. He scrambled on his hands and feet inside and the other mammals slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Wait a minute," said Nick, suddenly realizing something. "Where's Raymond?"

"The rhino?" said Tavi. "He ran into the trailer."

Everyone looked at Hunter.

"What?"

"The trailer," said Nick, exasperated. "You could have run into the trailer."

Hunter blinked. "Oh, right."

A voice called to them from outside. "Monsieur Hunter!"

Stuart blinked. "The assassin squirrels are French?"

"Apparently," said Gideon. He squinted at Nick. "Is this sort of thing common in the city?"

Hunter, crouching slightly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, sidled up to the window. "Claude? I think it's time for you to give up, now."

" _Au contraire,_ Hunter. Do you think a few little bunnies will save you?" Hunter spotted the squirrel, taking off his helmet as he approached the house. "I am not afraid of them, Hunter, nor of you. But I am willing to parley."

"Well, I suppose I'll accept your surrender," shouted Hunter. "Just throw down your weapons and line up outside with your paws on your head."

The squirrel chuckled, a high-pitched chittering sound. "Most amusing, as always. No, here is my offer. You- and the rhino- come out and we will spare the lives of the others. Do not, and-" the squirrel spread his paws and shrugged. "Their blood will be on your paws, Hunter."

Hunter closed his eyes. "There are children in here, Claude."

"And I have no wish to harm them," called the squirrel. "Come out, Hunter. There is no other way."

The human hesitated, then started moving towards the door.

Judy stepped in front of him. "What are you doing?"

Hunter stopped, looking down at her. "You heard him, Judy. I'm not letting you guys pay for my mistakes."

"They're going to kill you," said Judy. Bonnie and Stuart watched her with wide eyes.

Hunter shrugged. "So?"

"What?" cried Tavi. "Zach!"

The human turned towards her, stabbed a finger in her direction. "Enough people- mammals- have died because of me, Tavi." He looked away. "Remember Hart?"

The lawyer who Hunter had been forced to shoot by Lucas. "Zach, it wasn't your fault."

"My finger on the trigger, Anila." He turned towards the door and put his hand on the knob. "I'm sorry."

Nick grabbed his arm and yanked it from the door. "Zach, they're going to kill us all anyway. They can't afford to leave witnesses."

Hunter stopped, then his shoulders slumped. "Damn. You're right."

Judy shook her head. "We've got to fight."

"There's too many of them- they're small, quick. And all they have to do is stick you with one of those syringes," said Hunter.

"Then we've got to slow them down- if they can't move, then they can't dodge," said Judy. Nick frowned, thinking.

"How are we going to do that?" asked Hunter.

Nick snapped his fingers. "Tavi, did you do that shopping for Hunter?"

She stared at him. "Um, yes, but why-"

"I've got a plan."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Francois stood next to the door, one ear pressed up against it. "I can hear them, Claude. They are planning something..."

Claude was standing on the back of Etienne, trying to pick the lock as quietly as he could. They had considered coming in through the windows, but he was well aware of their strengths- the small windows would constrict their movements too much. "What are they saying?"

Francois made a shushing gesture. "The fox has a plan. There is- there is a back door."

" _Non_. We have checked-"

"A hidden back door. A- how do you say?- a bolt-hole." The squirrel looked to Claude. "They are going to flee."

Claude swore. "If they do, we will find them. But some may escape." He was well aware that he could afford to leave none alive- though killing Hopps and Wilde might annoy Mr. Big, having witnesses would anger him even more. "We must- there!"

The tumblers aligned and the lock slid open with a _snick_. Claude glanced at the other squirrels. "We will rush them. Kill Hunter first." He turned the handle of the door and threw it open.

Two of the bunnies were disappearing down a hallway. The squirrels rushed in, and stopped as they saw Hunter- too large to fit down the passage- crouched in a corner of the living room. He clutched a golf club in one hand, though it seemed likely he'd have a hard time swinging it in the tight confines of the room. Claude grinned, walking forwards to join his fellow squirrels. "So, Monsieur Hunter. Nowhere to run now, is there?"

The human glanced from side to side as the rest of the squirrels moved in, his face hard. As the final few assassins came in, all clutching their syringes, their attention wholly on him, he let the club fall to the floor with a sigh. "No, there isn't. Bit of a sticky situation."

Claude smiled. "Indeed. Though I am not familiar with the idiom, I think I understand." He moved to take another step- and found his foot would not move. Frowning, he looked down.

"In this case, it's actually not an idiom," said Hunter easily. He picked up the golf club again and eyed the squirrels. "I meant it literally."

Two of the other squirrels tried to leap at him, and fell face-first to the floor when their legs wouldn't move. They tried to get up, and found they were also stuck to the floor.

Claude blinked as he realized there was some sort of clear substance coating the floor. "What is this?"

A mongoose popped her head up from behind the couch. She held up a large, clear, _empty_ bottle. "Professional quality modelling glue. Guaranteed to bond anything to anything, quick."

Two more heads appeared. Claude recognized them as Hopps and Wilde. "Well," said the fox, stepping out from behind a recliner. He, too, was wielding a golf club. "I think it's time we- what was that word you used- oh, right." He smiled down at Claude, who flinched at the sharp, white teeth. "Parley, _n'est-ce pas?"_

Hunter blinked at him. "You speak French?"

The fox shrugged back. "A little."

Claude snarled and reached to his back, grabbing the dart launcher he carried. He twisted to aim at Hunter, whose eyes widened in surprise as he tried to back up. "Not so funny now, are you, Hunter?"

Nick took a step forward and swung the golf club.

It struck the dart launcher perfectly, ripping it from Claude's hands and sending it flying against the far wall. The squirrel let out a squeak of surprise and pain and fell to the floor. He stared in shock at Nick.

Hunter nodded approvingly. "Not bad, Nick. Good shot."

"It's all in the follow-through," said Nick modestly. He looked down at Claude, who found his back now stuck to the floor. "Now, let's do a little negotation. You and your friends here- including any outside- give up."

"Or?" asked Claude, more out of form than anything else.

"Or I hit you with this golf club until my arm gives out."

Claude regarded him bitterly. "Not a very subtle negotatior, are you?"

Nick grinned. "Nope. Just sly."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gruff stood in the yard, taking in the scene.

Fluff was leading a line of squirrels- carpet still stuck to their feet where they'd been cut from the floor- into a jail van borrowed from a neighboring county.

In front of the Hopps farm burrow, Gideon was shaking his head as he walked around his van, noting the damage- minimal to the vehicle, pretty much total to his baked goods. From his muttered comments, Gruff was under the impression that Hunter was going to have a heck of a bill.

Hunter himself was standing next to the travel trailer, wiping his face with a wet towel. For some reason, he was covered in pie filling. Gruff considered that thoughtfully before filing it under the "I don't want to know" section of his mind.

And then there were the Hopps.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" shouted Stuart. He stabbed a finger accusingly at Nick, who took a step back. "It's him that's getting you into this!"

"Now, wait a minute-" said the fox heatedly. "This is not my fault!"

"He saved our lives!" said Judy, her paws on her hips as she glared at her father.

"After putting them at risk! Consorting with mobsters," Stuart said, casting a glare at a nearby rhinoceros, "And humans, and, and-"

"Mongoosen," said Hunter, walking up. "Also lions, tigers and bears. Oh, my."

Stuart whirled on him. "This is none of your business, Mr. Hunter."

"Actually, Mr. Hopps, it is. Because, quite frankly, this is my fault," said Hunter quietly.

"Your fault?"

"It's a long story, but yeah. Don't worry, though. I'm leaving today." He turned to walk towards the trailer, paused. He looked over his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

He walked away, Stuart staring after him.

The mongoose, Tavi, spoke up. "Mr. Hopps, Mrs. Hopps- it's not like that. It's just when you're a cop- you have to looking for trouble. And sometimes it ends up finding you, first."

"That's exactly the point," said Bonnie sadly. She looked at Nick meaningfully. Tavi frowned, then hurried off towards Hunter's trailer.

The fox's eyes narrowed. "Okay, that's it." He stepped forward and looked Stuart and Bonnie in the eyes.

"Yeah, I used to be a con artist. I'm not going to make any excuses for it. I grew up thinking the world hated me and there wasn't any reason for me not to hate it back." He turned to look at Judy. "Until one day a dumb little bunny showed me different." Their eyes met, and she smiled at him.

He shook his head ruefully. "I'm not saying I don't have a ways to go. Sometimes I'm not sure what would make someone as wonderful as Judy stick around with me. But I know I'm making something out of myself, something more than I ever would have before, and it's all because of her."

Nick met their eyes again. "I love her more than anyone or anything else in the world. I'd die for her. More than that, I'm trying to live for her. Isn't that enough?"

Gruff, still unnoticed by the rest of the mammals, sniffed a bit. No doubt due to allergies.

Bonnie and Stuart shared a look, unspoken words passing between them. She looked at Nick, eyeing him carefully. "Those are fine words, Mr. Wilde. And heartfelt, I don't doubt. But she's our daughter. And so far, all the evidence we've seen is that she's in constant danger. What proof is there that what you said is more than words?"

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. "I think I might can help with that," said Tavi nervously.

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Ears laid back, tail quivering, she held up a framed letter in front of her and began reading.

"Attention to Orders," she read. "During the course of an investigation into several missing mammals, Officers Judy Hopps and Nicholas Wilde discovered the location of some twenty four missing mammals, who were being held and tortured by operatives from the Human Stars."

Stuart and Bonnie gasped in shock and horror. Judy blinked. "Tavi, wait."

Ignoring her, Tavi continued, her voice growing stronger as she read. "These suspects, when discovered, elected to try and cover the evidence of their crimes by murdering the innocent mammals they held prisoner. Officers Hopps and Wilde, with complete disregard of their own safety, made a dynamic entry into the building that was defended by multiple heavily armed and highly trained suspects. Once inside, unable to be supported by other units due to the continuing violent resistance of the suspects, Hopps and Wilde successfully engaged a 'fire-team', neutralizing the suspects. They then located and protected the captive mammals, defending them against further attacks and sustaining multiple injuries in the process. Despite their injuries, they held until relieved by fellow ZPD officers."

Stuart stared at Judy, his mouth open. Bonnie was crying silently. Judy took a step towards them.

"Their actions were in accord with the highest traditions of the ZPD, and its mission to protect and serve. They are hereby awarded with the ZPD Medal of Valor," finished Tavi, her voice shaky. She lowered the award. "You never heard the whole thing, because it was classified," she explained.

Judy looked at her parents, her eyes wide. Both of them seemed paralyzed, stunned. "Mom, dad- I didn't want you to worry-" she said softly.

Stuart stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "That's my girl!"

His wife lunged forward to join the hug. "That's amazing, Judy!"

Judy widened her eyes in surprise. "You're not worried?"

Bonnie pulled back a bit, enough to look her in the eye. "Of course we are!" She touched Judy's cheek with her paw. "We worry all the time. But- Judy, we had no idea." She hugged her again, squeezing her eyes shut. "We had no idea you were such a hero."

"You saved so many lives," said Stuart. "And while I don't want to lose you- it makes me a bit happier to know you're risking it in a good cause."

Judy brushed away a tear. "Thanks, dad."

Nick, looking uncomfortable, started to sidle away. Before he took more than a couple of steps, though, Stuart spotted him. "Wilde!"

Nick spun to face him. "Um. Yes?"

Stuart, finally letting go of Judy, walked up to the taller mammal and looked into his eyes. "You were there, with her?"

"Yeah."

Stuart nodded, then took a deep breath. He looked back at Bonnie, who gave him a slow nod. He turned to Nick again. "Thanks," he said, his voice slightly rough with emotion. "For being there with her."

Nick looked at him seriously. "I always will be."

Bonnie walked up to stand beside her husband and searched Nick's face intently. "Is that a promise, Mr. Wilde?"

"Yes." He smiled slightly. "A promise from a fox."

They both smiled back. "Well," said Stuart finally. "I guess that's good enough for me." He extended a paw, which Nick took.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, Hunter," said Tavi.

They were both in his trailer. He looked up from his bag. "Hey, rookie." He blinked. "Is that my-" he stopped.

"Your framed commendation for Nick and Judy?" She handed it to him. "Yep."

He gave her a suspicious look before taking it. "Thanks. I guess."

"Why do you have them?"

The human paused, looking down at the commendation letter. "You know how my kids were taken away when they were both real young?" At her nod, he continued. "I always used to see the other guys with pictures of their kids getting awards, or trophies for sports or spelling bees or whatever, and, well." He carefully put the letter away in his bag. "The closest thing I had to kids were my rookies. I'd train them, try to teach them how to stay alive, pass on my knowledge to them and hope they made it through."

"They were like your children, then. So when they did good- you kept their awards," said Tavi.

"It made me feel like I was making a difference. That maybe, just maybe, I was earning my keep," said Hunter, his voice quiet and somehow far away. "And whenever they did something good, it was, in a way, something I contributed to."

Tavi nodded. "I get it."

He stood up. "You guys- you're like my kids, almost." He suddenly grinned. "Well, not exactly. You're fuzzier than my kids ever were."

"You think of me and Nick and Judy as-"

He blinked. "Well, kinda. I mean- look, don't read too much into it, okay?" Suddenly uncomfortable, he busied himself with making the small bed. "You know, I was starting to get used to this place. You don't notice the fish smell nearly so much after a while."

Tavi walked to the door and pulled it open with some difficulty. She hesitated on the step, looked back at Hunter. "Hey, Hunter."

"Yeah, rookie?"

"I definitely don't think of you as my dad."

He shook his head before turning around. "Well, no, I don't expect...you..." he trailed off when he saw that she was gone. "Huh."

Hunter scratched his head. "Wonder what that was all about?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The train chugged along, leaving the green fields of Bunnyburrow behind, towards the silvery skyscrapers of Zootopia. Hunter stood in the observation car at the front of the train, watching as the sun's rays lit up the city. The alabaster wall of the Tundratown glacier, the vibrant green of the Rainforest District, the sense of life and energy-

He sighed. "Okay, I guess it is kinda pretty."

Tavi rolled her eyes. "That's the best I'm going to get, I suppose."

Judy was leaning against Nick nearby. "Back to the city," she said, somewhat wistfully. "You know, they say you can never go home again."

"Thomas Wolf," said Nick.

They all looked at him. He shook his head. "Okay, by now you guys shouldn't be surprised that I'm well-read."

Hunter reached over and playfully mussed his head. "Yeah, but you have to admit it's kinda funny."

"Hey, knock it off!" complained Nick. "You're mussing my fur."

"Yeah, that's the point."

"So," said Judy. "You wanted us to all come up here for something."

Hunter sobered. "Yeah." He took a step forward, shoving his hands in his pockets. "After I dealt with Lucas, someone contacted me on the shuttle. Said his name was Prometheus."

"Prometheus?" asked Nick. "Is that a human name?"

"Sort of. Comes from ancient mythology- Prometheus stole fire from the gods."

"Code name?" suggested Judy.

Hunter nodded. "Has to be. He made me an offer."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "The usual?"

"Yeah. Join or die."

"Join what?" asked Tavi.

Hunter shook his head. "Hell if I know. Said he wanted to make humanity prosper. Said he didn't have anything against the Terrans, but- I got the impression that if you aren't with him, you're against him."

The smaller mammals all glanced at one another. "What did you say?" asked Tavi.

"To the offer? I refused."

"Uh-huh. Politely?"

Hunter turned to face them, and they all flinched slightly at his eyes. "He was working with Lucas. He let my wife and children die. No, I wasn't entirely polite."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Tavi. "I mean, he must be a human. So he's almost certainly not on Terra."

"Maybe not," said Judy. "But I think we need to find out who he is. And what he wants."

Nick nodded. "And how to stop him."

They all turned to face the city, watching it in silence broken only by the sound of the train cutting through the air.

 _A/N:_

 _Okay, so first of all I must admit I'm not particularly keen on exactly how this chapter turned out- I just wasn't feeling it as far as the humor goes, for the most part. There's a few good lines in there, but- I dunno. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I may re-write it at a later time._

 _Thomas Wolfe was the author with the "can't go home again" quote. I swear, more and more people I reference seem to have animal names. It's weird. There's also a Tom Wolfe (Bonfire of the Vanities, The Right Stuff) who is an amazing author and I highly recommend him._

 _I took a bit of a liberty with the dimensions of the Hopps burrow- I really, really wanted to make the Winnie the Pooh joke. That said, it seems like Zootopian mammals are a bit closer to human size than their real-life versions- I read one thing that suggested Judy was in fact a hare, as she was significantly larger than a European rabbit would be. Certainly they are modified in other ways- their paws are much more human-like, to the extent that hoofed mammals seem to have fingers on their forepaws. This is actually going to be brought up in the plot of the next major arc._

 _And speaking of which- it's coming. I'm almost positive the title will be Hunter's Peace, and it's going to be a "long arc" story. I may- not sure yet- write a very short vignette dealing with the first contact (well, the first re-contact) between humanity and Terra- in other words, a short time before the events of Hunter's Rules. If so, I'll likely include it as a prologue of sorts in Hunter's Peace. As far as when I'll be posting it- it's going to be a little bit, I'm afraid. Probably about two to three weeks, though if I really take off I may get it going sooner. The good news is that when I post, it'll probably be 10-15 chapters at once- because of the way I do my plots, I need to write a fair amount before posting, because I change things up as I go frequently. Most of my (numerous) continuity errors are due to not doing this like I write a real novel or story, all at one go and go back. Not to say I'm not enjoying this style- it's quite fun in its way._

 _One final thing. I made a comment about hoping this fic took off in fandom- that's still true, but I just wanted to be clear that I still really appreciate those folks who are reading and enjoying, especially the very kind comments you guys have made. I didn't want to seem ungrateful- you all have been great and I really appreciate the support. I hope you're enjoying and will continue to enjoy. Thanks so much!_


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